Section 28.35.182. Failure to stop at direction of peace officer.

   (a) A person commits the offense of failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer in the first degree if the person violates (b) of this section, and, during the commission of that offense,
        (1) the person violates AS 28.35.400;
        (2) the person is committing vehicle theft in the first or second degree; or
        (3) as a result of the person's operation or driving, an accident occurs or a person suffers serious physical injury; in this paragraph, "serious physical injury" has the meaning given in AS 11.81.900.
   (b) A person commits the offense of failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer in the second degree if the person, while driving or operating a vehicle or motor vehicle or while operating an aircraft or watercraft, knowingly fails to stop as soon as practical and in a reasonably safe manner under the circumstances when requested or signaled to do so by a peace officer.
   (c) In a prosecution under this section, it is an affirmative defense, if the peace officer, when requesting or signaling the defendant to stop,
        (1) was operating a vehicle, motor vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft, and the vehicle, motor vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft
             (A) did not meet lighting and audible signaling requirements of law for law enforcement vehicles; and
             (B) was not marked appropriately so that a reasonable person would recognize it as a law enforcement vehicle; or
        (2) was not operating a vehicle, motor vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft, and the peace officer was not wearing the uniform of office or displaying a badge or other symbol of authority so as to be reasonably identifiable as a peace officer.
   (d) In this section,
        (1) "knowingly" has the meaning given in AS 11.81.900;
        (2) "signal" means a hand motion, audible mechanical or electronic noise device, visual light device, or combination of them, used in a manner that a reasonable person would understand to mean that the peace officer intends that the person stop.
   (e) Failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer in the first degree is a class C felony punishable as provided in AS 12.55. Failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.

Notes

History

(Sec. 1 ch 66 SLA 1984; am Sec. 1 ch 136 SLA 1998; am Sec. 1 ch 93 SLA 2002)