Woman Fatally Shot After Refusing Georgia Police Officer’s Orders

According to reports out of Clarke County, a woman who threatened to attack a police officer was fatally shot at the scene of a 911 call.

The footage has been released this past week of the officer's body cam. On the video, you can see the woman wielding a knife and refusing to obey the officer's orders before she was shot.

Not every instance resisting arrest or hindering an officer from doing their lawful duties ends this tragically. However, as a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I will focus today's post on the law behind these types of actions taken by the woman mentioned in the story above.

Obstruction in Georgia

Obstruction in Georgia is defined by Georgia Law as:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, a person who knowingly and willfully obstructs or hinders any law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge of his official duties is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(b) Whoever knowingly and willfully resists, obstructs, or opposes any law enforcement officer, prison guard, correctional officer, probation supervisor, parole supervisor, or conservation ranger in the lawful discharge of his official duties by offering or doing violence to the person of such officer or legally authorized person is guilty of a felony and shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years. O.C.G.A. §16-10-24.

Some examples of obstruction of a police officer in Georgia include:

• Resisting arrest
• Hindering a police investigation
• Lying to an officer
• Giving false information to an officer
• Running from an officer
• Threatening an officer
• Hitting an officer

Practice Note

Obstruction is an offense quite often seen charged alongside a charge of DUI in Georgia. As a firm focused on DUI Law, we also are experts in all crimes related to DUI.

Contact our offices today for a consultation. We can help you now.