Can a defendant be convicted of making a threat to kill a police officer?

Section 69, subdivision (a) provides: "Every person who attempts, by means of any threat or violence, to deter or prevent an executive officer from performing any duty imposed upon the officer by law, or who knowingly resists, by the use of force or violence, the officer, in the performance of his or her duty" commits a crime punishable by imprisonment, a fine, or both. Section 69 sets forth two separate ways in which an offense can be committed: either by making a threat or by the use of violence. (See People v. Smith (2013) 57 Cal.4th 232, 240 ["The actual use of force or violence is not required"].) Here, the People asked the

Page 15

jury to convict defendant on the basis of a threat, not on the use of violence.