720 ILCS 5/31-8 – Refusing to Aid an Officer
This law says you can get in trouble if you refuse to help a police officer when they ask for help.
This Illinois law makes it a petty offense if someone refuses or fails to help a police officer catch a person or stop a crime when asked to help. It means that if you know someone is really a police officer and they ask for your help, you’re supposed to help them if you can.
(a) If a police officer tells you to help catch someone that they are allowed to arrest, and you refuse to help or do not try to help in a reasonable way, you are breaking the law.
(b) If a police officer tells you to help stop someone from committing a crime, and you refuse or knowingly fail to help in a reasonable way, you are also breaking the law.
Sentence: A person who breaks this law commits a petty offense.
Contact us online or call (314) 900-HELP to talk with a Southern Illinois criminal defense lawyer.
