Actually, it doesn't matter if they "just lay there" or not. Either way they are considered resisting because the act of resisting law enforcement is not determined by the actions of the victim, but rather the actions of the LEO. If the LEO used brutality and violence without reason, then the victim is considered to be "resisting" even if they never move a muscle from a prone position. The moment that an officer has made the choice to violently lay hands on a person withot cause, that person is considered to be "resisting arrest".
In just one example of many (because once you become a target then until you move out of the district then every encounter is preceded with, "I read your file". In recent news, Alex Pretti's last encounter was his second), I had a more veteran cop use me as a dummy to teach a more rookie cop, by squeezing me as hard as possible on the back of the neck completely randomly out of the blue so she could show him, "See how the muscle tenses up in his neck when I do this? That's called resisting." Muscle tensing is an involuntary bodily response to pain. It is impossible for the recieving party to control. And they make absolutely sure you FEEL the pain. The more pain they inflict, the more guilty you are.
People need to wake up and realise that the charge of "resisiting arrest" means only that unnecesary violence was used against a civilian, and has nothing to do with "resisting" or "arrest". In order to be charged with it, not only do you not need to "move" or "resist" in any way, but you don't need to be under arrest, being arrested, be charged with any arrestable crime, or even be considered for arrest. When there is no arrest being made, you are charged with "resisitng arrest" based solely on the fact that violence was used against you and the perpetrators cannot justify that violence in any other way.
I don't know how it works in the US, but in Canada a charge of resisting arrest cannot be challenged in court. If an LEO says it, then it's an automatic guilt based on their word alone with no proof or argument. This is why when cops here beat you up they scream "stop resisting!" at the top of their lungs with every single punch they throw on your prone, still body... just in case somebody can hear; to drown out your screams of pain, your pleas for help, and the unmistakable sound of human flesh being pounded mercilessly to a pulp.
Also, I have to add a positive note. A LOT has changed since George Floyd. I was in his exact position choking out the exact same words, "I can't breathe", to receive the exact same response, "I don't care," before returning to meaningless shouts of "stop resisitng!", many years before Floyds murder. I was lucky to survive, but when I heard his story it hit me hard knowing that would have been me a few seonds longer.
Thanks to him, I no longer live in the same fear and terror every day of my life, because of Black Lives Matter and the change and awareness they brought. All my experiences were pre-BLM, and pre-George Floyd. All of them were brought on by police discrimination, both classism and racism, and police intimidation; their uncontrollable desire for power tripping and violence. I still have trauma, but my life in the present has changed since and it had nothing to do with me. But yes all this pro-ICE MAGA shit opens up a lot of old wounds and trauma, especially when repeated by authoritarian UCP supporters right here at home.
We are going through all of this again, and it is vital that people reaist and apeak out against this tyranny and these brutal murders. We CAN change the world, but it takes some serious effort on everybody's part, not just the victims.
The first step we all need to do is STOP ASSUMING ANYBODY IS A CRIMINAL (or undesirable) FOR HAVING AN ENCOUNTER WITH POLICE. In this country, we are innocent until proven guilty, and police presence doesnt prove shit. Some people commit violence because it's "fun", and nobody can stop them when they scream, "I'm the man in the hat! I'm the man with the badge!" like they're some sort of cage fighter.
BLM, forever and always.
