Assault or Obstruct Police

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n Queensland, under section 790 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 it is an offence to assault or obstruct a police officer in the performance of the officer’s duties.

Under the relevant Acts “obstruct” or “assault” can be defined as follows.

Obstruct includes hinder, resist and attempt to obstruct.

The definition for Assault is defined under section 245 of the Criminal Code Act 1899.

A person who strikes, touches, or moves, or otherwise applies force of any kind to, the person of another, either directly or indirectly, without the other person’s consent, or with the other person’s consent if the consent is obtained by fraud, or who by any bodily act or gesture attempts or threatens to apply force of any kind to the person of another without the other person’s consent, under such circumstances that the person making the attempt or threat has actually or apparently a present ability to effect the person’s purpose, is said to assault that other person, and the act is called an assault.

Not only do both “acts” have very different meanings, but they also can have a significant impact on the penalty that might be imposed upon conviction of an offence under this section.

The maximum penalty for assaulting or obstructing a police office is forty (40) penalty units or six (6) months imprisonment. However, with a circumstance of aggravation this can increase in the maximum penalty to sixty (60) penalty units or twelve (12) months imprisonment.

Each case is different, and the facts of your charge will often depend on whether you may have a defence available to you. Commonly, self-defence can be used in circumstances where you may have been required to defend yourself against the use of excessive force by the police officer and further, often policer officers can be found unlawfully acting outside the parameter of their duties. This may constitute a defence to any charge.

Should you or anyone close to be charged with a relevant offence under this Act contact Jones + Associates to receive advice today. For more information contact Brisbane criminal lawyers.