R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-10 (2026)

Resisting legal or illegal arrest

✓ current as of July 2026
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(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to use force or any weapon in resisting a legal or an illegal arrest by a peace officer, if the person has reasonable ground to believe that he or she is being arrested and that the arrest is being made by a peace officer.

(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both fine and imprisonment.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 37 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1967–2025 · leading case: State v. Mendoza, 889 A.2d 153 (R.I. 2005).
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State v. Mendoza, 889 A.2d 153 (R.I. 2005). · cites it 4× “01(C)(1)(b), 1 and resisting arrest in violation of G.L.1956 § 12-7-10. After a jury trial on February 18, 2000, defendant was found guilty on all four counts.”
State v. Wiegmann, 714 A.2d 841 (Md. 1998). · cites it 2× “§ 505(b)(1)(i) (West 1983); R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-10(a) (1994); S.C.Code Ann.”
Petro v. Town of West Warwick ex rel. Moore, 889 F. Supp. 2d 292 (D.R.I. 2012). · cites it 4× “” R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-10(a). Defendants’ arguments with respect to resisting arrest are unpersuasive.”
State v. Hanes, 783 A.2d 920 (R.I. 2001). · cites it 2× “1956 § 11-47-8; and for resisting arrest, in violation of G.L.1956 § 12-7-10. At trial, the state’s witnesses and defendant presented various, conflicting accounts of the deadly encounter between defendant and Jamel.”
State v. Albanese, 970 A.2d 1215 (R.I. 2009). · cites it 2× “I Facts and Travel On November 22, 2003, the Narragansett Police Department filed a criminal complaint against defendant, charging her with one count of simple assault and/or battery in violation of § 11-5-3, 1 and one count of resisting arrest in violation of G.L.1956 §…”
State v. Ramsdell, 285 A.2d 399 (R.I. 1971). · cites it 4× “However, this right was abolished in Rhode Island not by the enactment of §11-5-5, the assault felony statute, in 1965 but by the passage of an act in 1941 (now cited as §12-7-10) which makes it unlawful to forceably resist an illegal arrest if such person has reasonable grounds…”
State v. Crudup, 842 A.2d 1069 (R.I. 2004). · cites it 2× “1956 § 11-47-3, possession of a firearm without a license in violation of § 11-47-8, resisting arrest in violation of G.L.1956 § 12-7-10, and unlawful possession of a stolen firearm in violation of G.”
State v. Hurteau, 810 A.2d 222 (R.I. 2002). · cites it 2× “Under G.L. 1956 § 12-7-10, an arrestee must “submit peacefully and, if he has been unlawfully arrested, * * * pursue his remedy in the courts.”
State v. Gelinas, 417 A.2d 1381 (R.I. 1980). · cites it 2× “” *1385 General Laws 1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 12-7-10 requires an arrestee to submit peacefully and, if he has been unlawfully arrested, to pursue his remedy in the courts.”
State v. Hobson, 577 N.W.2d 825 (Wis. 1998). · cites it 2× “§ 505(b)(1)(i) (1983); R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-10 (1994); S.D. Codified Laws Ann.”
Glenn v. State, 849 S.E.2d 409 (Ga. 2020). “§ 30-22-1 (B); R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. § 12-7-10 (a); S.D. Codified Laws §§ 22-11-4 ; 22-11-5.”
State v. Ana M. Cruz, 109 A.3d 381 (R.I. 2015). · cites it 3× “Cruz, appeals from a Superior Court judgment of conviction, having been found guilty on two counts: (1) resisting arrest in violation of G.L.1956 § 12-7-10; and (2) disorderly conduct in violation of G.”
Show all 37 citing cases →
— R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-10(a) — 3 cases
State v. Wiegmann, 714 A.2d 841 (Md. 1998). “§ 505(b)(1)(i) (West 1983); R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-10(a) (1994); S.C.Code Ann.”
Petro v. Town of West Warwick ex rel. Moore, 889 F. Supp. 2d 292 (D.R.I. 2012). “” R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-10(a). Defendants’ arguments with respect to resisting arrest are unpersuasive.”
State v. Mendoza, 889 A.2d 153 (R.I. 2005). “01(C)(1)(b), 1 and resisting arrest in violation of G.L.1956 § 12-7-10. After a jury trial on February 18, 2000, defendant was found guilty on all four counts.”
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