SUAREZ, J.
C.W., a juvenile, appeals from an order denying his motion for judgment of dismissal and adjudication of delinquency. We reverse, and remand with instructions to discharge the adjudication of delinquency.
C.W. was initially charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence.
The record does not show that C.W. was ever given a citation for the pedestrian violation and it is not cited as a basis for the arrest. The Petition for Delinquency only states that C.W. failed "to follow the order of said officer to get out of the street where traffic was moving...."
To convict a defendant of obstructing or resisting an officer without violence, the State must prove two elements: (1) the officer was engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty and (2) the defendant's action constituted obstruction or resistance of that lawful duty. J.P. v. State, 855 So.2d 1262, 1265-66 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003); Jay v. State, 731 So.2d 774 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). The State fails to sustain either element.
The evidence does not support a conclusion that the officers were engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty with their initial request that C.W. step out of the street. The case law provides that "legal duties" include (1) serving process; (2) legally detaining a person; or (3) asking for assistance in an emergency situation, or (4) impeding officers' undercover activities by acting as a "lookout" during the commission of a criminal act. See, e.g., Davis v. State 973 So.2d 1277 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008); Jay, 731 So.2d at 775; Porter v. State, 582 So.2d 41, 42 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). Although this is not an exhaustive list, it is clear that there is a difference between an officer who is engaging in the lawful execution of a legal duty, and a police officer who is merely on the job. See, e.g., Jay, 731 So.2d at 776; D.G. v. State, 661 So.2d 75, 76 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). The officers' initial request that C.W. move a de minimus distance out of the road was a reasonable part of their job as community safety officers.
Moreover, in evaluating a citizen's verbal response to a police officer, it is understandable that a police officer in good faith may see an obstruction where another citizen sees an appropriate protest. D.G. v. State, 661 So.2d at 75; see L.A.T. v. State, 650 So.2d 214 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995). "If a police officer is not engaged in executing process on a person, is not legally detaining that person, or has not asked the person for assistance with an ongoing emergency that presents a serious threat of imminent harm to person or property, the person's words alone can rarely, if ever, rise to the level of an obstruction." D.G., 661 So.2d at 76. The fact that the incident may have attracted the attention of onlookers, without more, is insufficient to support a charge of disorderly conduct. See Fields v. State, 24 So.3d 646 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009); K.S. v. State, 697 So.2d 1275 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). The record facts in C.W.'s case do not support a finding of disorderly conduct or obstruction of a legal duty.
"If an arrest is not lawful, then a defendant cannot be guilty of resisting it... the common law rule still remains that a person may lawfully resist an illegal arrest without using any force or violence." Jay, 731 So.2d at 775. We therefore reverse the order denying C.W.'s motion for judgment of dismissal, and remand with instructions to dismiss the adjudication of delinquency and to correct the juvenile's post-adjudication records accordingly.
Reversed and remanded.
LAGOA, J., concurs.
ROTHENBERG, J., (dissenting).
C.W. was adjudicated delinquent after an adjudicatory hearing for the offense of resisting an officer without violence in violation of section 843.02, Florida Statutes (2010), based on his refusal to follow the police officers' lawful order to move out of the street and his subsequent resistance during his arrest. Because the arresting officers observed C.W. committing a pedestrian violation, obstruction of a public street or road in violation of section 316.2045, Florida Statutes (2010), the officers were engaged in the lawful execution of their legal duty—to enforce the traffic laws of this state—when they ordered C.W. to step out of the street. When C.W. repeatedly refused to move out of the street, became belligerent and began cursing at the officers, causing a crowd to form, the officers had probable cause to arrest C.W. for resisting an officer without violence. Thus, the trial court's order denying C.W.'s motion for judgment of dismissal and adjudicating C.W. delinquent should be affirmed.
The record reveals that C.W. wanted to ride his ripstick on the street because the sidewalk was unpaved gravel and therefore, unfit for such activity. When Officers Leonardo Sosa and Kermain Kerlus, who were riding in one marked police vehicle, and another officer in a separate marked unit drove past C.W., C.W. and his
Section 843.02, the resisting without violence statute, provides, in pertinent part, that "[w]hoever shall resist, obstruct, or oppose any officer ... in the lawful execution of any legal duty, without offering or doing violence to the person of the officer, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree...." To support a conviction for violation of section 843.02 for obstruction without violence, the State must prove: "(1) the officer was engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty; and (2) the defendant's action, by his words, conduct, or a combination thereof, constituted obstruction or resistance of that lawful duty." C.E.L. v. State, 24 So.3d 1181, 1185-86 (Fla.2009). C.W.'s refusal to obey the officers' orders to step out of the roadway, while yelling and cursing at the officers, causing a crowd to gather, clearly constitutes "obstruction," and thus satisfies the second element. The issue in this appeal is whether the officers were engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty when they ordered C.W. to step out of the roadway.
Contrary to the majority opinion, the officers were engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty: to enforce the traffic laws of this state. Also contrary to the majority opinion, which premises its reversal on its incorrect supposition that "there is no evidence that C.W. actually interfered with traffic," there
Section 316.2045(1), titled "Obstruction of public streets, highways, and roads," provides as follows:
Despite, the majority's contrary conclusion, the record clearly reflects that C.W. violated section 316.2045(1). It is
Officer Kerlus' testimony was consistent with Officer Sosa's testimony, and C.W., who testified, did not dispute this testimony. Thus, the basis for the majority's reversal, that the officers were not engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty because "there is no evidence that C.W. actually interfered with traffic, and the mere potential to interfere with traffic is insufficient to justify the officers' actions," disregards and is contrary to the evidence presented.
The majority's reliance on Underwood v. State, 801 So.2d 200 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001), is also misplaced. In Underwood, the Fourth District held that the officer lacked probable cause to stop the defendant for obstruction of traffic because there was no evidence that the defendant actually hindered or endangered the normal use of the roadway. Id. at 202. The evidence in Underwood was that "[a]s soon as the officer's vehicle approached, appellant moved forward, allowing the officer to continue his travel along the street without having to stop or drive around appellant's vehicle." Id. at 203. Unlike Underwood, the evidence in this case is that C.W. actually obstructed the "free, convenient, and normal use" of the roadway "by impeding, hindering, stifling, retarding, or restraining traffic" because the officers in two separate vehicles had to swerve around C.W. to avoid hitting him. C.W.'s obstruction was also willful because he refused to move out of the roadway, and the officers testified that additional traffic, which appeared after C.W. was forcibly removed from the roadway, would have been equally impeded by C.W.'s refusal to move.
The majority relies on Underwood, which has no application in this case, and fails to mention Reid v. State, 898 So.2d 248 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005), a case in which the Fourth District distinguished its holding in Underwood, and which is applicable to the facts in the instant case. In Reid, the Fourth District stated the following:
C.W.'s refusal to obey the lawful order to move out of the roadway clearly constituted "obstruction," thus also satisfying the second element of section 843.02. As this Court noted in N.H. v. State, 890 So.2d 514, 516 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005), "[section 843.02] is unambiguous. It is intended to apply to any situation where a person willfully interferes with the lawful activities of the police. Nothing indicates that it applies only when police are arresting a suspect, nor does the case law support such a narrow construction of the statute."
In N.H., this Court upheld the adjudication of delinquency for resisting an officer without violence on facts similar to the instant case. While investigating a "`loud yell' emanating from a female voice in the school parking lot," N.H. became agitated, cursed at the officers, and was otherwise disruptive, and refused to identify himself, sit down, or answer any other questions. Id. at 515. The fact that the police did not have probable cause to arrest N.H. at the time he was initially "stopped" was found to be of no consequence because the officers were engaged in the lawful exercise of a legal duty at the time he resisted or obstructed their efforts. Id. at 517.
Similarly, in K.A.C. v. State, 707 So.2d 1175, 1177 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998), this Court found that because law enforcement saw K.A.C., who appeared to be of school age, walking away from a school, and they had a legal duty to determine if K.A.C. was truant, and if so, to transport him to school, K.A.C. was under a legal obligation to answer the officers' questions. Because K.A.C. refused to provide information or answer there questions, this Court found that there was sufficient evidence to support K.A.C.'s adjudication of delinquency for the offense of resisting an officer without violence.
Even more on point is J.M. v. State, 960 So.2d 813, 815 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007), where this Court noted that "inaction can constitute interference under section 843.02." In J.M., the officers attempted to disperse a crowd which had formed in a park to watch a fight between two girls. Although the officers repeatedly ordered the crowd to leave, J.M.'s brother refused to leave and he was arrested. When J.M. also failed to comply, he too was arrested for resisting an officer without violence. This Court affirmed, finding that J.M.'s presence in the park after orders to leave was sufficient to support an adjudication of the charge. Id.; see also Zivojinovich v. Barner, 525 F.3d 1059, 1071 (11th Cir.2008) (finding that the deputies were lawfully executing their legal duty by informing Zivojinovich that he was not allowed on the Ritz's Carlton's property, ordering him to sit down while they issued him a warning, and escorting Zivojinovich off the property; holding that because Zivojinovich disobeyed the deputies' commands to sit down, the deputies had probable cause to
The arresting officers observed C.W. committing a violation of section 316.2045 by standing in the roadway obstructing the normal flow of traffic. His conduct was willful because when he was asked to move off of the roadway, he refused to do so. The officers, who have a duty to protect the public and enforce the law, were engaged in the lawful execution of that duty when they exited their vehicles and repeatedly ordered C.W. to move out of the roadway. When C.W. refused to comply with the officers' lawful orders, the officers properly arrested him for resisting an officer without violence pursuant to section 843.02. Thus, the trial court did not err in adjudicating C.W. delinquent as to that charge, and that finding must be affirmed.
A. [Officer Kurless]: Well for his safety, because cars be [sic] coming down the road and he could get hit, so we just told him to kind of step off to the side of the road."