According to testimony in court by one of the offficers involved,¹ Byron Case fled from arresting officers and attempted to barricade himself inside his bedroom after they had clearly identified themselves as officers.

The significance of his action is that it suggested to the jury that Case knew that they were there specifically to arrest him, and that he had a reason to flee. It was not necessarily incriminating in itself, but did not help his claim of innocence.

Had Case simply frozen, raised his hands, and questioned why officers were in his home (which could be considered a more natural reaction), it might have given his claims of innocence more credence. Instead, his attempt to resist arrest gave an indication to the jury that he knew exactly why the police were there.

Case's web site makes the claim that he "was dragged from his bed by a tactical police unit," leaving the impression that he was awakened by some sort of a home invasion, ignoring that the arresting officer testified that Case had attempted to barricade himself in his room.

The site further claims that Case "did not know it at the time, but he was being arrested for murder. Led to a waiting Sheriff's car in handcuffs, the only reply he got to his repeated questions was stern silence." The truth is that once Case was subdued and formally identified by officers, he was informed that he was under arrest for murder and was read his Miranda rights, including the right to remain silent. There is no record of him asking "repeated questions" of the arresting officers, though there is a record of him being informed of why he was being arrested.