COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4364
(By Delegates Stemple, Shaver and Perry)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[February 16, 2004]
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-2-10b of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to including division of forestry
employees in the assault and battery statute with similar
state personnel.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-2-10b of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON.
§61-2-10b. Malicious assault; unlawful assault; battery and
recidivism of battery; assault on police officers,
conservation officers, probation officers, humane
officers, emergency medical service personnel,
firefighters, fire marshal, division of forestry
employees and county or state correctional
employees; penalties.
(a)
Malicious assault. -- Any person who maliciously shoots,
stabs, cuts or wounds or by any means causes bodily injury with
intent to maim, disfigure, disable or kill a police officer,
probation officer, conservation officer, humane officer, emergency medical service personnel, firefighter, state fire marshal or
employee,
division of forestry employee, county correctional
employee or state correctional employee, employee of an urban mass
transportation system acting in his or her official capacity and
the person committing the malicious assault knows or has reason to
know that the victim is a police officer, probation officer,
conservation officer, humane officer, emergency medical service
personnel, firefighter, state fire marshal or employee,
division of
forestry employee,
county correctional employee, state correctional
employee, employee of an urban mass transportation system acting in
his or her official capacity, is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be confined in a correctional facility
for not less than three nor more than fifteen years.
(b) Unlawful assault. -- Any person who unlawfully but not
maliciously shoots, stabs, cuts or wounds or by any means causes a
police officer, probation officer, conservation officer, humane
officer, emergency medical service personnel, firefighter, state
fire marshal or employee, division of forestry employee, county
correctional employee or state correctional employee, employee of
an urban mass transportation system acting in his or her official
capacity, bodily injury with intent to maim, disfigure, disable or
kill him or her and the person committing the unlawful assault
knows or has reason to know that the victim is a police officer,
probation officer, conservation officer, humane officer, emergency
medical service personnel, firefighter, state fire marshal or
employee, division of forestry employee,
county correctional
employee, state correctional employee, employee of an urban mass
transportation system acting in his or her official capacity, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined
in a correctional facility for not less than two nor more than five
years.
(c) Battery. -- Any person who unlawfully, knowingly and
intentionally makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking
nature with a police officer, probation officer, conservation
officer, humane officer, emergency medical service personnel,
firefighter, state fire marshal or employee, division of forestry
employee, county correctional employee, state correctional
employee, employee of a mass transportation system acting in his or
her official capacity, or unlawfully and intentionally causes
physical harm to a police officer, probation officer, conservation
officer, humane officer, emergency medical service personnel,
firefighter, state fire marshal or employee, division of forestry
employee,
county correctional employee, state correctional
employee, employee of an urban mass transportation system acting in
such capacity, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be confined in the county or regional jail for not
less than one month nor more than twelve months, fined the sum of
five hundred dollars, or both. If any person commits a second such
offense, he or she is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be confined in a correctional facility for not less
than one year nor more than three years or fined the sum of one
thousand dollars or both fined and confined. Any person who
commits a third violation of this subsection is guilty of a felony
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in a correctional
facility not less than two years nor more than five years or fined
not more than two thousand dollars or both fined and confined.
(d) Assault. -- Any person who unlawfully attempts to commit
a violent injury to the person of a police officer, probation
officer, conservation officer, humane officer, emergency medical
service personnel, firefighter, state fire marshal or employee,
division of forestry employee, county correctional employee, state
correctional employee, employee of a mass transportation system
acting in his or her official capacity, or unlawfully commits an
act which places a police officer, probation officer, conservation
officer, humane officer, emergency medical service personnel,
firefighter, division of forestry employee,
county correctional
employee or state correctional employee, employee of a mass
transportation system acting in his or her official capacity in
reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury,
is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
confined in the county or regional jail for not less than
twenty-four hours nor more than six months, fined not more than two
hundred dollars, or both fined and confined.
(e) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Police officer" means any person employed by the state
police, any person employed by the state to perform law-enforcement
duties, any person employed by a political subdivision of this
state who is responsible for the prevention or detection of crime
and the enforcement of the penal, traffic or highway laws of this
state or employed as a special police officer as defined in section
forty-one, article three of this chapter.
(2) "Employee of an urban mass transportation system" means
any person employed by an urban mass transportation system as such
is defined in section three, article twenty-seven, chapter eight of this code or by a system that receives federal transit
administration funding under 49 U.S.C. §5307 or 5311.
(3) "Division of forestry employee" means an officer, agent,
employee, or servant, whether full-time or not, of the division of
forestry.