Justification; use of physical force in resisting arrest prohibited · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 35.27 Justification; use of physical force in resisting arrest
prohibited.
A person may not use physical force to resist an arrest, whether authorized or unauthorized, which is being effected or attempted by a police officer or peace officer when it would reasonably appear that the latter is a police officer or peace officer.
A person may not use physical force to resist an arrest being made or attempted by someone who reasonably appears to be a police or peace officer, whether the arrest is authorized or unauthorized. ★
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.