Offense of Eluding and Evading a Law Enforcement Officer in Missouri

Under Missouri Laws 575.150, an individual commits an offense of eluding and evading a law enforcement officer if he or she, willfully attempts to or actually flees to elude a pursuing officer with the intention of avoiding being apprehended, detained, or arrested. An individual is presumed to be evading a police officer if he or she continues to drive a vehicle or automobile after being signaled by means of clear visible emergency lights or an audible signal emanating from the pursuing officer’s vehicle or motorcycle.

In order to convict a defendant for this offense, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that,

(i) the officer in pursuit was in a motor vehicle or other automobile;

(ii) that the defendant was also driving the vehicle or other automobile, and

(iii) that the defendant willfully attempted to flee or fled from the officer in pursuit.

In addition, the prosecution has to establish the following elements in order to prove a crime of evading a police officer.

• The defendant acted with an intention of evading a police officer.
• The pursuing police officer’s vehicle had at least one lit red light visible from the front.
• The defendant saw or reasonably should have seen visible emergency signs on the police vehicle.
• The pursuing police officer’s vehicle or motorcycle was distinctively marked and could be identified by the defendant as a police officer’s vehicle or motorcycle .
• The pursuing police officer sounded a siren audible enough to have been heard by the defendant and pull over.
• The police officer was wearing a distinctive uniform.

In situations where vehicles or any automobiles are not involved, the law enforcement officer is required to issue an order either by word of mouth, by use of hand gesture, or by other means that will be clearly understood by the person being pursued. The above-mentioned elements for proving culpability do apply in circumstances that do not involve vehicles or automobiles.  Therefore, persons who defy a clear police order or signal issued by an officer wearing police uniform with a badge commit the offense of evading police.

Eluding and evading a law enforcement officer in Missouri

Eluding and evading a law enforcement officer in Missouri may be prosecuted as either a misdemeanor or felony. Eluding the police on foot is usually considered a misdemeanor unless the defendant already has a warrant issued against them for failure to appear on a felony case or for probation violation on a previous felony case. In Missouri courts, prosecutors can at times be flexible  and negotiate plea bargains with defendants.

An offense which is considered a class A misdemeanor is punishable by jail term of up to one year, a fine of up to $2500, driver’s license suspension and/or probation. However, the offense can be elevated into a class E felony if;

(i) the defendant has been convicted of a similar offense in the past;

(ii) the act of evading causes physical injury to another party or the pursuing officer , whether caused by the person fleeing or by the officer in pursuit; or

(iii) the defendant causes risk of death to any person.

A defendant convicted of a class E felony involving eluding and evading a law enforcement officer in Missouri is punishable in various ways depending on the severity of the offense. Persons found guilty of eluding an officer and in the process cause serious physical injury or risk of death to another party or the pursuing officer face imprisonment for up to 4 years and/or a fine of up to $10, 000.

Evading a police officer in Missouri once you have been signaled to stop is unacceptable and could lead to serious criminal charges. The best course of action once signaled by an officer is to pull over and cooperate with the officer.

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