(a) Any person who by threats, menaces, acts or otherwise, forcibly or illegally hinders or obstructs, or attempts to hinder or obstruct any law enforcement officer, Humane Officer, Park Superintendent, Municipal Fire Marshal or City Building Official acting in his or her official capacity is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or confined in the County or Regional Jail not more than thirty days, or both.
(b) Any person who, with intent to impede or obstruct a law enforcement officer, or, Municipal Fire Marshal in the conduct of an investigation of a felony offense, knowingly and willfully makes a materially false statement, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and not more than two hundred dollars ($200.00) or confined in the County or Regional Jail for five days, or both.
(c) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to flee by any means other than the use of a vehicle from any law enforcement officer, Humane Officer, Park Superintendent, Municipal Fire Marshal or City Building Official, acting in his or her official capacity who is attempting to make a lawful arrest of the person or issue a citation to the person and who knows or reasonably believes that the officer/official is attempting to arrest him or her, or to issue him or her a citation, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or confined in the County or Regional Jail not more than thirty days, or both.
(d) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to flee in a vehicle from any law enforcement officer, Humane Officer, Park Superintendent, Municipal Fire Marshal or City Building Official acting in his or her official capacity, after the officer/official has given a clear visual or audible signal directing the person to stop, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and shall be confined in the County or Regional Jail not more than thirty days.
(e) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to flee in a vehicle from any law enforcement officer, Humane Officer, Park Superintendent, Municipal Fire Marshal or City Building Official acting in his or her official capacity, after the officer/official has given a clear visual or audible signal directing the person to stop, and who causes damage to the real or personal property of any person during or resulting from his or her flight, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than three thousand dollars ($3,000) and shall be confined in the County or Regional Jail for not more than thirty days.
(f) For purposes of this section, "vehicle" includes any motor vehicle, motorcycle, motorboat, all-terrain vehicle, or snowmobile, as those terms are defined in West Va. Code 17-a- 1-1, whether or not it is being operated on a public highway at the time and whether or not it is licensed by the State.
(g) For purposes of this section, "flee", "fleeing" and "flight" do not include any person's reasonable attempt to travel to a safe place, allowing the pursuing law enforcement officer, Humane Officer, Municipal Fire Marshal or City Building Official to maintain appropriate surveillance, for the purpose of complying with the officer's/official's direction to stop. (Ord. 2023-05. Passed 6-21-23.)