Obstructing a police officer in Rhode Island is interfering with an officer’s lawful execution of duty under R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-32-1. The charge is typically a misdemeanor with up to 1 year jail and fines. Common scenarios include physically interfering with an arrest, providing false information to officers, running from police, hiding evidence during a search, or actively blocking police action. The conduct must interfere with a LAWFUL officer action — defense work often focuses on whether the underlying police conduct was actually lawful. Obstruction is frequently added to other charges and is one of the most common stacking charges in Rhode Island criminal cases.
