H. B. 2221
(By Delegates Faircloth, Trump, Staton,
Amores, Hunt and Douglas)
[Introduced February 26, 1997; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section seventeen, article five,
chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to rewriting
the law on obstructing and fleeing from an officer;
penalties; definition of vehicle; authority to promulgate
rules and standards; immunity from civil or criminal
liability for law enforcement officers in certain
circumstances.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section seventeen, article five, chapter sixty-one of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC JUSTICE.
§61-5-17. Obstructing officer; fleeing from officer; penalties;
definition; authority to promulgate rules and standards; immunity.
(a) Obstructing an officer. -- Any person who by threats,
menaces, acts or otherwise, shall forcibly or illegally hinder,
obstruct, or oppose, or attempt to obstruct or oppose, hinders or
obstructs, or attempts to hinder or obstruct, or shall counsel,
advise or invite who counsels or invites others to hinder or
obstruct or oppose any civil or military officer in this state
(whether civil or military) in the lawful exercise or discharge
of his or her official duty, shall for every such offense, be
is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, and
may, in the discretion of the court, be imprisoned not exceeding
one year.
(b) Fleeing from an officer. -- If Any person who
intentionally flees from or attempts to flee from any civil or
military officer in this state (whether civil or military) who is
attempting to make a lawful arrest of such the person, and the
person knows or reasonably believes that the officer is
attempting to arrest him or her, he or she is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, and may, in the
discretion of the court, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding
twelve months.
(c) Fleeing in a vehicle from an officer. -- Any person in
a vehicle who intentionally flees from or attempts to flee from
any civil or military officer after the officer has given a
visual or audible signal as provided in section five, article
two, chapter seventeen-c of this code, is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five
hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, and shall be
imprisoned for a term not less than six months nor more than one
year.
(d) Fleeing in a vehicle from an officer and causing
property damage. -- Any person who intentionally flees from or
attempts to flee from any civil or military officer after the
officer has given a visual or audible signal as provided in
section five, article two, chapter seventeen-c of this code, and
who causes damage to the property of any other person, is guilty
of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
less than one thousand nor more than three thousand dollars, and
shall be imprisoned for a term of not less than one year.
(e) Fleeing in a vehicle from an officer and causing bodily
injury. -- Any person who intentionally flees from or attempts
to flee from any civil or military officer after the officer has
given a visual or audible signal as provided in section five,
article two, chapter seventeen-c of this code, and who causes bodily injury to any other person, is guilty of a felony and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for a term of not
less than one nor more than five years.
(f) Fleeing in a vehicle from an officer and causing death.
-- Any person who intentionally flees from or attempts to flee
from any civil or military officer after the officer has given a
visual or audible signal as provided in section five, article
two, chapter seventeen-c of this code, and who causes death to
any other person, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be imprisoned for a term of not less than ten nor
more than forty years.
(g) Fleeing in a vehicle from an officer and under the
influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs. -- Any
person who intentionally flees from or attempts to flee from any
civil or military officer after the officer has given a visual or
audible signal as provided in section five, article two, chapter
seventeen-c of this code, and while that person is under the
influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs, is guilty
of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for
a term of not less than one nor more than five years.
(h) For purposes of this section, the term "vehicle"
includes all vehicles, motor vehicles and motorcycles as defined
pursuant to section one, article one, section seventeen-a of this code, and any motor vehicle, whether licensed or not, which may
be designated an off-road vehicle, including all-terrain
vehicles, motorcycles outfitted for trail riding or competition,
snowmobiles and recreational vehicles, including motorboats.
(i) For the purposes of subsections (e), (f) and (g) of this
section, the determining factor in the officer's decision to
continue a pursuit shall be based on the reason the officer
initiated the pursuit and not on the subsequent premise that the
pursuit has developed into a felony pursuit by virtue of the
fleeing offense.
(j) The governor's subcommittee on law enforcement training
certification is authorized to propose rules pursuant to
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the purpose of
implementing this section.
(k) The governor's subcommittee on law enforcement training
certification shall promulgate standards for pursuit policies
which shall be adopted and adhered to by all municipal, county
and state law-enforcement agencies. Agencies adopting these
standards and their employees shall be immune from civil or
criminal liability attendant to events arising from any pursuit.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to amend the law
concerning obstructing and fleeing from a law-enforcement
officer. The bill adds new penalties for causing property
damage, bodily injury or death, or for being under the influence or alcohol or drugs, while involved in fleeing in a vehicle from
an officer. The bill authorizes the governor's subcommittee on
law-enforcement training certification to establish standards for
pursuit policies to be adopted by all law enforcement agencies.
The bill gives civil and criminal immunity to law enforcement
officers following these standards from any incidents arising out
of pursuit of a fleeing person.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.