John E. Harris appeals the denial of his motion for directed verdict of acquittal in his prosecution for misdemeanor obstruction of a law enforcement officer. In order to affirm on this record, we would be required to hold that any refusal to cooperate, even the peaceable assertion of constitutional rights, can support an obstruction conviction. We decline to adopt such a rule and find the evidence insufficient to support the conviction. We therefore reverse. A motion for a directed verdict of acquittal is due to be granted when there is no conflict in the evidence, and the evidence and its reasonable deductions and inferences demand it. OCGA § 17-9-1 a. When reviewing the trial court’s denial of a motion for directed verdict, the reviewing court may consider all the evidence in the case and must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. Schroeder v. State , 261 Ga. App. 879, 881-882 2 583 SE2d 922 2003. But where, as here, the evidence of record includes an audio or video recording, “to the extent that the controlling facts . . . are undisputed because they are plainly discernable from the . . . recording, we review those facts de novo.” Johnson v. State , 299 Ga. App. 474, 474-475 682 SE2d 601 2009, citing Lyons v. State , 244 Ga. App. 658, 658-659 535 SE2d 841 2000. The standard for reviewing a denial of a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal is whether under the rule of Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U. S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979, the evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty of the charged offense. Harvey v. State , 212 Ga. App. 632, 634 2 442 SE2d 478 1994.
The accusation charged Harris with “unlawfully knowingly and willfully obstructing and hindering C SCAGGS, a law enforcement officer, in the lawful discharge of her official duties. . . .” Detective Scaggs of the Cobb County Police Department testified that on July 29, 2009, the Department of Family and Children Services “DFCS” notified the Cobb County police that they needed to go to Harris’s house to check on the welfare of a 10-day-old infant, C. H., and if she were there, to take her into protective custody. Harris is C. H.’s father. Her mother is Kayla Bagwell. C. H.’s older siblings had already been placed in protective custody; C. H. had not been taken at the same time because she had not yet been born.
