Columbia Deceiving a law enforcement officer ordinance (§ 16-224)

(a) A person commits the offense of deceiving a law enforcement officer if he shall knowingly deceive a law enforcement officer for the following purposes:

(1) To prevent discovery of any offense or crime which has been or is being committed by any person; or

(2) To prevent or hinder investigation, apprehension, prosecution, conviction or punishment of any person for conduct constituting an offense under the ordinances of the city or the laws of the state.

(b) It is a defense to a prosecution under this section that the actor retracted the false information or removed the deception but this defense shall not apply if the retraction or removal was made after:

(1) The falsity of the information or the deception was exposed; or

(2) Any law enforcement officer took substantial action in reliance on the false information or deception.

(c) The defendant shall have the burden of injecting the issue of retraction or removal under paragraph (b) of this section.

(d) Deceiving a law enforcement officer is a class A misdemeanor.