Fleeing to Elude a Law Enforcement Officer
Law enforcement officers in Orlando and Orange County, Florida, have begun taking a more aggressive approach to pursuing drivers who flee to elude officers during traffic stops. The law enforcement agency might also seize the vehicle for forfeiture. In the courtroom, prosecutors are becoming less willing to reduce these cases to a less serious offense, thereby allowing a driver’s license revocation to be avoided.
After an accusation for fleeing or eluding a law enforcement officer in Orlando or Orange County, FL, you also need an experienced criminal defense attorney to fight for you during each phase of the case. The attorneys at Sammis Law Firm are experienced fighting serious traffic crimes throughout Orlando, Orange County, and the surrounding areas of central Florida. We understand important defenses that can be used to fight these cases.
A person who flees or attempts to elude a law enforcement officer commits a third degree felony. Likewise, any person who willfully flees or attempts to elude a law enforcement officer in an authorized law enforcement patrol vehicle, with agency insignia and other jurisdictional markings prominently displayed on the vehicle, with siren and lights activated, commits a third degree felony.
The Orange County Jail Booking Report lists the crime as:
- 316.1935(1)- FELONY / THIRD DEGREE FLEEING/ATT. TO ELUDE POLICE OFFICER
- 316.1935(2)- FELONY / THIRD DEGREE FLEE/ELUDE POLICE-FLEE ELUDE LEO WITH LIGHTS SIREN ACTIVE
If you are convicted of fleeing to elude under Section 316.1935, the court must impose a court-ordered revocation of your driving privileges for at least 12 months and up to five years. Florida’s flee to elude statute also prohibits the court from deferring adjudication or suspending the sentence.
Elements of the Offenses of Fleeing to Elude
The crime of fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer under Section 316.1935, F.S., requires proof of the following:
- the operator of any vehicle
- having knowledge that he or she has been ordered to stop the vehicle by a duly authorized law enforcement officer;
- does one of the following:
- willfully refuse or fails to stop the vehicle in compliance with such order; or,
- stops in knowing compliance with such order, but then willfully flees in an attempt to elude the officer.
Driving at a High Speed or Recklessly While Fleeing to Elude a LEO
Any person who willfully flees or attempts to elude a law enforcement officer in an authorized law enforcement patrol vehicle, with agency insignia and other jurisdictional markings prominently displayed on the vehicle, with siren and lights activated, and during the act of fleeing or attempted eluding:
- Drives at a high speed, in a manner which demonstrates a wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property, commits a second-degree felony.
- Drives at a high speed, or in a manner which demonstrates a wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property and causes serious bodily injury or death to another person, including any law enforcement officer involved in pursuing or otherwise attempting to effect a stop of the person’s vehicle, commits a first degree felony.
The court must sentence any person convicted of committing this offense that causes serious bodily injury or death to a mandatory minimum sentence of 3 years.
Aggravated Fleeing to Elude When Leaving the Scene of a Crash
Any person who in the course of unlawfully leaving or attempting to leave the scene of a crash, having knowledge of an order to stop by a duly authorized law enforcement officer, willfully refuses or fails to stop in compliance with such an order, or having stopped in knowing compliance with such order, willfully flees in an attempt to elude such officer and, as a result of such fleeing or eluding:
- Causes injury to another person or causes damage to any property belonging to another person commits aggravated fleeing or eluding, a second degree felony;
- Causes serious bodily injury or death to another person, including any law enforcement officer involved in pursuing or otherwise attempting to effect a stop of the person’s vehicle, commits aggravated fleeing or eluding with serious bodily injury or death, a first degree felony.
The felony of aggravated fleeing or eluding and the felony of aggravated fleeing or eluding with serious bodily injury or death constitute separate offenses for which a person may be charged, in addition to unlawfully leaving the scene of a crash, which the person had been in the course of committing or attempting to commit when the order to stop was given.
The court must sentence any person convicted of committing aggravated fleeing or eluding with serious bodily injury or death to a mandatory minimum sentence of three (3) years imprisonment.
Additional Resources
Florida Statute Section 316.1935 – Visit the website of the Florida Senate to find the statutory language of Section 316.1935, which explains the elements of the offense, the punishments that can be imposed after a conviction, the minimum mandatory or statutory maximum penalty, and related consequences such as the seizure of the vehicle for forfeiture proceedings. Read more about the crime of fleeing to elude in Florida.
This article was last updated on April 25, 2025.
