While Smith’s pre-arrest conduct was insufficient to satisfy section 575.150.1(1), his conduct of going limp, throwing his body weight back and forth, and wrapping his legs around the officer after he was handcuffed placed the officers’ physical safety at risk and involved the physical force necessary to support a resisting arrest conviction. Cf. State v. Miller, 172 S.W.3d 838, 843 (Mo. App. S.D. 2005) (holding that evidence was sufficient to support resisting arrest conviction where defendant used bodily force to prevent officer from pulling her out of car by gripping and hugging the steering wheel); State v. Belton, 108 S.W.3d 171, 175 (Mo. App. W.D. 2003) (holding that jury could reasonably conclude that defendant resisted arrest “by exerting the strength and power of his bodily muscles to overcome [the officer’s] attempts to pull him from the car”). However, while this conduct may well be sufficient to constitute a criminal offense, under Ajak, that offense was not resisting arrest due to it having sequentially occurred after the officers had completed Smith’s arrest. Cf. Ajak, 2018 WL 1599784, at *7 (finding that defendant’s resistance while being walked to the car occurred while he was in custody rather than when he was arrested).
State v. Smith, WD80430, decided May 22, 2018 (citing State v. Ajak, SC96333, decided April 3, 2018).