Mercier, Judge.A jury found Sarah Bacon guilty of obstruction of a law enforcement officer (misdemeanor) and not guilty of simple battery. Bacon appeals, contending that the trial court erred by denying her motion for a directed verdict of acquittal on the obstruction charge. She argues that she could not be convicted of obstruction of a law enforcement officer because the officer, an off-duty municipal law enforcement officer, was working outside the municipality’s boundaries and thus was not engaged in the lawful discharge of his official duties when he attempted to arrest her. We agree and reverse. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, Edenfield v. State, 293 Ga. 370, 371 (1) (744 SE2d 738) (2013), the evidence shows the following. C. R. was employed at an American Legion facility in Americus, in Sumter County, Georgia. On May 28, 2016, C. R. had a disagreement with Bacon, who was her co-worker, in the facility’s carport area.Officer J. B, who was a sworn police officer for the Plains Police Department and the Montezuma Police Department, was working security for the American Legion that evening. His work at the time did not involve the Plains or Montezuma police departments, and he was not a sworn officer with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Department or the City of Americus Police Department.Officer J. B. testified that when he exited the American Legion building and entered the facility’s carport area, he saw Bacon strike C. R. on the arm. Officer J. B. grabbed Bacon and told her she was under arrest, but Bacon “snatched away” from him. Officer J. B. told her again she was under arrest, and Bacon again pulled away from him. Bacon then “got into a defensive stance,” and Officer J. B. “bear hugged” Bacon, placed her against a car, handcuffed her and called for the Sumter County Sheriff’s Department to transport her to the sheriff’s office. Bacon’s cousin, J. R., testified that he witnessed part of the incident and that, when Officer J. B. was attempting to handcuff Bacon, the officer threatened to “throw [Bacon] on the ground”; J. R. implored the officer not to do so, and he did not. Bacon was charged by accusation with obstruction of a law enforcement officer and simple battery.[1] As to the obstruction of a law enforcement officer charge, the accusation alleged that Bacon:in Sumter County, . . . did knowingly and willfully obstruct [J. B.], a law enforcement officer with the Plains Police Department, in the lawful discharge of his official duties by snatching away from him several times, which made it hard for him to place her under arrest, in violation of the laws of the State of Georgia.
The sole issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred by denying Bacon’s motion for a directed verdict of acquittal on the charge of obstruction of a law enforcement officer, when the officer was an off-duty municipal police officer working outside of his jurisdiction when he attempted to arrest her. The standard of review for the denial of a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal is the same as that for reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction. A motion for a directed verdict in a criminal case should only be granted when there is no conflict in the evidence and the evidence demands a verdict of acquittal as a matter of law. Moreover, on appeal the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict[.]
