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Ark. Code Ann. § 5-54-102

Obstructing governmental operations

Applied in 11 court decisions — leading case Walker v. City of Pine Bluff (2005)

Most recently applied in Alexander Sullivan, in His Individual and Official Capacities; City of Little Rock; And Keith Humphrey, in His Official Capacity as Chief of Police, City of Little Rock Police Department v. Kenneth Richardson (March 2026)

Acts 1975, No. 280, § 2802; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-2802; Acts 1995, No. 1182, § 1; 1999, No. 577, § 1; 2005, No. 1994, § 453; 2007, No. 163, § 1; 2009, No. 342, § 1; 2009, No. 748, §…

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Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) A person commits the offense of obstructing governmental operations if the person: Knowingly obstructs, impairs, or hinders the performance of any governmental function;

(2) Knowingly refuses to provide information requested by an employee of a governmental agency relating to the investigation of a case brought under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq., and is the physical custodian of the child in the case;

(3) Fails to submit to court-ordered scientific testing by a noninvasive procedure to determine the paternity of a child in a case brought under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq.; or

(4) Falsely identifies himself or herself to a law enforcement officer or a code enforcement officer.

(5) Obstructing governmental operations by using or threatening to use physical force is a Class A misdemeanor.

(6) A second or subsequent offense of obstructing governmental operations under subdivision (a)(4) of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

(7) Otherwise, obstructing governmental operations is a Class C misdemeanor.

(8) This section does not apply to: Unlawful flight by a person charged with an offense;

(9) Refusal to submit to arrest;

(10) Any means of avoiding compliance with the law not involving affirmative interference with a governmental function unless specifically set forth in this section; or

(11) Obstruction, impairment, or hindrance of what a person reasonably believes is a public servant's unlawful action.

(12) As used in this section, “code enforcement officer” means an individual charged with the duty of enforcing a municipal code, municipal ordinance, or municipal regulation as defined by a municipal code, municipal ordinance, or municipal regulation.

(13) “Code enforcement officer” includes a municipal animal control officer.

Current official text: Arkansas General Assembly. Digitized from the UniCourt Code Improvement Commission public-domain capture. Reproduced from public-domain Arkansas statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.