Eluding a Police Officer in New Jersey

N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2 · Offenses Against Public Administration

What the law says

The section prohibits purposely preventing or attempting to prevent a law enforcement officer from effecting an arrest, including by flight. It also prohibits knowingly fleeing or attempting to elude a police or law enforcement officer after receiving a signal to stop while operating a motor vehicle on a street or highway in this State or a vessel on the waters of this State.

Depending on how it's graded, this offense is either an indictable crime, prosecuted in the Superior Court in the county where it happened, or a disorderly persons offense heard in municipal court. Indictable charges go through grand jury review. Prosecutors sometimes downgrade them to municipal court.

What the State must prove

To convict, the prosecutor must prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2, that means:

• The person purposely prevents or attempts to prevent a law enforcement officer from effecting an arrest.
• For the flight form of resisting arrest, the person, by flight, purposely prevents or attempts to prevent a law enforcement officer from effecting an arrest.
• For the enhanced resisting-arrest form, the person uses or threatens to use physical force or violence against the law enforcement officer or another, or uses another means to create a substantial risk of causing physical injury to the public servant or another.
• The person is operating a motor vehicle on any street or highway in this State, or a vessel on the waters of this State.
• After receiving a signal from a police or law enforcement officer to bring the vehicle or vessel to a full stop, the person knowingly flees or attempts to elude that officer.
• For the second-degree eluding form, the flight or attempt to elude creates a risk of death or injury to any person.

How the charge is graded

• A person who purposely prevents or attempts to prevent a law enforcement officer from effecting an arrest is guilty of a disorderly persons offense, except as provided in paragraph (3).
• A person who, by flight, purposely prevents or attempts to prevent a law enforcement officer from effecting an arrest is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree, except as provided in paragraph (3).
• An offense under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection a. is a crime of the third degree if the person uses or threatens to use physical force or violence against the law enforcement officer or another, or uses any other means to create a substantial risk of causing physical injury to the public servant or another.
• A person operating a motor vehicle or vessel who knowingly flees or attempts to elude an officer after a signal to stop commits a crime of the third degree.
• A person is guilty of a crime of the second degree if the flight or attempt to elude creates a risk of death or injury to any person.

Penalties in the statute

• In addition to the penalty prescribed under subsection b. or any other section of law, the court shall order suspension of the person's driver's license or privilege to operate a vessel, whichever is appropriate, for not less than six months or more than two years.
• For a person who is less than 17 years of age at the time sentence is imposed, the suspension of driving privileges authorized in subsection b., including suspension of the privilege of operating a motorized bicycle, shall commence on the day the sentence is imposed and run for a period as fixed by the court.

General sentencing ranges

Unless a statute sets a different penalty, New Jersey's general sentencing laws (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6, 2C:43-8, and 2C:43-3) set these maximums:

Other rules that can matter

• It is not a defense to a prosecution under subsection a. that the law enforcement officer was acting unlawfully in making the arrest, provided the officer was acting under color of official authority and announced the intention to arrest before the resistance.
• For subsection b., there is a permissive inference that the flight or attempt to elude creates a risk of death or injury to any person if the person's conduct involves a violation of chapter 4 of Title 39 or chapter 7 of Title 12 of the Revised Statutes.
• For subsection b., it is a rebuttable presumption that the owner of a vehicle or vessel was its operator at the time of the offense.
• If the person's driving or vessel operating privilege is under revocation, suspension, or postponement for a violation of Title 2C or Title 39 at the time of conviction or adjudication of delinquency for an offense defined in this chapter or chapter 36 of Title 2C, the revocation, suspension, or postponement imposed under this section commences when the existing revocation, suspension, or postponement ends.
• Upon conviction, the court shall collect the person's New Jersey driver's licenses and forward them to the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles with a report stating the first and last day of the suspension or postponement. If the court cannot collect the licenses, it shall cause a report of the conviction or adjudication of delinquency to be filed with the director.
• The report filed if the licenses cannot be collected shall include the person's complete name, address, date of birth, eye color, and sex, and the first and last day of the suspension or postponement.
• The court shall inform the person orally and in writing that conviction for personally operating a motor vehicle or vessel during the suspension or postponement period will subject the person to the penalties set forth in R.S.39:3-40 or section 14 of P.L.1995, c.401 (C.12:7-83), whichever is appropriate.
• The person must acknowledge receipt of the written notice in writing. Failure to receive written notice or to acknowledge receipt in writing is not a defense to a subsequent charge under R.S.39:3-40 or section 14 of P.L.1995, c.401 (C.12:7-83), whichever is appropriate.

Common defense strategies

Every case turns on its facts, but defenses we often explore include:

• Challenging whether the conduct meets the statute's specific elements
• Bodycam and dashcam video review of the police encounter
• Lack of purpose or knowledge
• Negotiating downgrades to municipal court where appropriate

What to do right now

1. Don't discuss the facts with police, the alleged victim, or anyone on a jail phone or social media.
2. Write down everything you remember, including names, times, and locations.
3. Keep every document you received, such as the complaint, summons, and release conditions.
4. Follow all release and no-contact conditions exactly.
5. Call a New Jersey criminal defense lawyer before your first court date.

How we help

Edward G. Appel has defended New Jersey clients since 1988 in municipal and Superior Courts in all 21 counties. We review the discovery, look for weaknesses in the State's case, file motions where they're warranted, and push for dismissals, downgrades, or diversion before you face a trial. Call 856-856-2373 for a free, confidential consultation about your Eluding a Police Officer charge.

Related charges

• Bribery →
• Official Misconduct →
• Perjury →
• False Reports to Law Enforcement →
• Witness Tampering →
• Tampering with Physical Evidence →
• Obstructing Administration of Law →
• Resisting Arrest →

Disclaimer: This page is general information about New Jersey law, not legal advice, and doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results don't guarantee a similar outcome.