Mr. Polite was convicted of tampering with a parking meter and resisting an officer with violence and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison as a prison releasee reoffender and a habitual felony offender. On appeal, he argued that he did not know the person attempting to arrest him, an undercover officer dressed in plain clothes, was in fact a police officer. The Third District Court of Appeal first upheld the conviction of resisting an officer with violence. On the initial rehearing, the court changed its previous decision and reversed the conviction. Then, on a subsequent rehearing, the court again changed its decision and affirmed the conviction. Mr. Polite appealed to this Court, arguing that knowledge of an officer's official status is an essential element of the crime of resisting arrest.