{"data":{"id":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-268-24","jurisdiction":"us-ma","citation":"Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268, § 24","heading":"Neglect or refusal to assist officer or watchman","body":"Section 24. Whoever, being required in the name of the commonwealth by a sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, police officer or watchman, neglects or refuses to assist him in the execution of his office in a criminal case, in the preservation of the peace or in the apprehension or securing of a person for a breach of the peace, or in a case of escape or rescue of persons arrested upon civil process, shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one month.","path":["Part IV","Title I","Chapter 268"],"source_url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter268/Section24","current_through":"amendments passed before May 31, 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-17T05:25:14Z","sha256":"3c7283cfe64bb0e031d956ee340c8347891d131ef39070e16b215ee5a687cb5c","source_id":"us-ma","stale":false,"prev":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-268-23","next":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-268-25"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}