Aiming an unloaded firearm at an officer constitutes force or violence under the wording of knowingly resisting an officer statute (69(a) P.C.)

Case Alert  
By Raymond Hill  
Professor Emeritus, Santa Rosa Junior College  

Legal Issue and Case Citation 

Aiming an unloaded firearm at an officer constitutes force or violence under the wording of knowingly resisting an officer statute (69(a) P.C.) 

Summary: This decision goes into detail about a contentious confrontation between a defendant (a convicted felon) and California Highway Patrol officers, Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies, and a Sonoma County Regional Parks ranger. The crux of the decision is as follows:  

Facts: A California Highway Patrol officer in Sonoma County observed two individuals in a parking lot engaged in a confrontation. The defendant was holding a knife and the other was holding a rock. After several orders, the defendant complied with the officer’s demands to discard the knife, engaged in a heated exchange with the officer (who was solo at the time), then entered his adjacent vehicle and drove off. The officer broadcasted an APB and called for backup. While backup was arriving and the second person was being arrested, the defendant returned to the scene. He exited his car with a firearm in his hand, aimed at officers and pulled the trigger. There was ....