Valentine’s Law make fleeing from police a felony
By Charles Christian
While fleeing from police has always come with consequences, a new law that went into effect this week adds harsher penalties for those who choose to lead police on a chase.
Valentine’s Law was signed by Gov. Mike Parson earlier this year and officially went into effect on Aug. 28 across the state. It makes fleeing from police in a vehicle a felony, instead of a misdemeanor as it was before the law was implemented. This means mandatory jail time and harsher penalties simply for fleeing. Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett said the law brings home the realization of the dangers of high-speed chases for police, the person fleeing and for the public.
“I hope it keeps everybody safe,” Puett said. “I also hope that people realize that they need to stop running from law enforcement. For too long there haven’t been many consequences, but making it a felony with a mandatory minimum jail time now makes fleeing a significant issue.”
The law, signed in July of 2024 as House Bill 1692, is named after a St. Louis County detective named Antonio Valentine, who was killed in 2021 when a fleeing suspect crashed into him. The law makes it an automatic felony to flee from police when committing a crime. According to the new law, fleeing that causes “substantial risk” will be a Class D felony. Causing physical injury to another while fleeing will be a Class B felony. Also, if a death results from fleeing from police, it is a Class A felony.
For Puett, a notable addition is mandatory minimum jail time of at least one year, along with a $10,000 fine. He said that he hopes it makes people think twice before fleeing, regardless of their legal predicament at the time of a stop.
“Whatever you’re fleeing for is still going to be there when you get caught,” Puett said. “So fleeing will now just compound a problem that already exists.”
According to the Missouri courts website, in addition to the mandatory one year of jail time, a Class D felony is punishable with up to seven years in prison. With a Class B felony, a sentence of five to 15 years can be imposed by the courts. The strictest felony, a Class A felony, which is the penalty for causing a death while fleeing from police under Valentine’s Law, carries a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.
The bill was originally introduced as Senate Bill 901 and received bipartisan support. It was co-sponsored in the Senate by Republican Nick Schroer and Democrat Tracy McCreery.
