When and how can a person resist an unlawful arrest?
<p>This is not a question of tactics, or whether or not this is advisable.</p>
<p>I'm hoping it's legal under at least some narrow circumstances. Is it legal to resist an unlawful arrest of an on-duty police officer in NH if:</p>
<ul>
<li>the officer, by his previous actions, gives any reasonable person reason to believe he will unlawfully cause grievous bodily damage or death and the arrestee feels in fear of un lawful grievous bodily damage (for instance he violently assaults a peaceful protester without any notice, then says &quot;You're next!&quot; while running to another peaceful protester)</li>
<li>the officer is affecting a clearly unlawful arrest (for instance an arrest for quietly filming in a time place and manner where filming is clearly legally allowed like off to the side of the lobby of a federal post office) and for no other reason</li>
<li>The officer claims he has the right to do illegal things to you like pepper spray you in order to force information or confession</li>
<li>The officer murders his civilian wife then affects an arrest of a civilian witness for the explicitly stated reason that he witnessed the crime</li>
<li>The officer has no legal jurisdiction to affect an arrest</li>
</ul>
<p>If it's <em>ever</em> legal to resist an unlawful arrest, to what extent can it be legally resisted and can onlookers <em>ever</em> obstruct an unlawful arrest?</p>
<p>EDIT and expansion of first sentence:</p>
<p>I'm well aware that generally an illegal arrest cannot legally be resisted when a reasonable officer would also be mistaken to have affected such an arrest. Please don't explain how it's a bad idea because 'officers can be equally mistaken about the legal facts and legal applications but they get a privileged legal status to affect an arrest. ' I know if an officer can legally arrest someone for reasons he is mistaken for. I know there are different legal standards for knowledge and evidence, de facto or de jure, regarding a civilian resisting arrest and police affecting an unlawful arrest. I know all that, but I don't know what the standards are in NH.</p>

<p>New Hampshire law makes it illegal to resist arrest, &quot;regardless of whether there is a legal basis for the arrest.&quot; <a href="https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/LXII/642/642-2.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RSA 642:2</a>.</p>
<p>You can likely defend yourself against excessive force used in or after the arrest, but you may not resist the arrest itself.</p>

new-hampshire