Alaska appeals court affirms that ‘turtling’ during an arrest is legal

In an opinion published Friday, the Alaska Court of Appeals overturned an Anchorage man’s conviction for resisting arrest but upheld a conviction of failing to stop at the direction of a police officer.

Tremayne Wilson was charged in 2021 and convicted by a jury after pulling out in front of an Anchorage Police Department vehicle and driving away at a high speed. During his arrest, Wilson did not cooperate with police.

After his conviction, Wilson appealed his case and represented himself in court. 

The ruling was what’s known as a “memorandum opinion,” which does not create new legal precedent but can reinforce existing precedent. 

In Wilson’s case, the court — citing prior precedent — concluded that Wilson’s failure to submit to police did not amount to resisting arrest.

In 2007, the Court of Appeals concluded that if someone in Alaska “turns turtle” and announces that they will not go with police, that action should not be considered resisting arrest. 

“Turtling” amounts to orienting the body so that a person’s arms and legs are underneath them, making it more difficult for police to handcuff the person.

“Mere non-submission does not qualify as ‘force’ for purposes of this offense,” the appeals court wrote about Wilson, referring to the state’s resisting-arrest law.

That conclusion followed an admission by Anchorage prosecutors who conceded that “the evidence at trial was legally insufficient to prove that Wilson used force to resist arrest.”

The appeals court, citing video evidence, did uphold Wilson’s conviction for failing to stop his vehicle at the direction of police.