ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4098
(By Delegates Leach, Pino and Clements)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[February 13, 1998]
A BILL to amend and reenact section ten-b, article two, chapter
sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to crimes against
the person; assaults and battery on enumerated persons;
extending protections of section to humane officers,
emergency medical technicians, firefighters, the state fire
marshal and his or her employees, and state and county
correctional employees; and including special police officer
as defined in section forty-one, article three, chapter
sixty-one of this code in the definition of police officer.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section ten-b, article two, 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 2. CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON.
§61-2-10b. Malicious assault; unlawful assault; battery and recidivism of battery; assault on police officers, conservation officers, humane officers, emergency medical technicians, firefighters, the state fire marshal and his or her employees, and county or state correctional officers or employees; penalties.
(a)
Malicious assault. -- If any person maliciously shoots,
stabs, cuts or wounds or by any means causes bodily injury with
intent to maim, disfigure, disable or kill a police officer,
conservation officer, humane officer, emergency medical
technician, firefighter, state fire marshal or employee, county
correctional officer
or employee or state correctional officer
or employee 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, conservation officer,
humane officer, emergency medical technician, firefighter,
state
fire marshal or employee, county correctional officer
or
employee or state correctional officer
or employee acting in his
or her official capacity,
then the offender shall be he or she
is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be
punished by
confinement in the penitentiary imprisoned in a correctional
facility for not less than three nor more than fifteen years.
(b)
Unlawful assault. -- If any person unlawfully but not
maliciously shoots, stabs, cuts or wounds or by any means causes
a police officer, conservation officer,
humane officer,
emergency medical technician, firefighter, state fire marshal or
employee, county correctional officer
or employee acting in his
or her official capacity or state correctional officer
or
employee acting in his or her official capacity bodily injury with intent to maim, disfigure, disable or kill said officer and
the person committing the unlawful assault knows or has reason
to know that the victim is a police officer, conservation
officer,
humane officer, emergency medical technician,
firefighter, state fire marshal or employee, county correctional
officer
or employee or state correctional officer
or employee
acting in his or her official capacity,
then the offender he or
she is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be
confined to the penitentiary for a period of imprisoned in a
correctional facility for not less than two years nor more than
five years.
(c)
Battery. -- If any person unlawfully and intentionally
makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with
a police officer, conservation officer,
humane officer,
emergency medical technician, firefighter, state fire marshal or
employee, county correctional officer
or employee or state
correctional officer
or employee acting in his or her official
capacity, or unlawfully and intentionally causes physical harm
to a police officer, conservation officer,
humane officer,
emergency medical technician, firefighter, state fire marshal or
employee, county correctional officer
or employee or state
correctional officer
or employee acting in such capacity,
said
person he or she is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be confined to the county or regional jail
for
not less than one month nor more than twelve months or fined the
sum of five hundred dollars or both fined and
imprisoned
confined. If any person commits a second such offense,
then such person he or she is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be confined in
the state 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 imprisoned.
Any person who commits a third violation of this subsection is
guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be
confined in
the state imprisoned 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 imprisoned.
(d)
Assault. -- If any person unlawfully attempts to commit
a violent injury to the person of a police officer, conservation
officer,
humane officer, emergency medical technician,
firefighter, state fire marshal or employee, county correctional
officer
or employee or state correctional officer
or employee,
acting in his or her official capacity, or unlawfully commits an
act which places a police officer, conservation officer,
humane
officer, emergency medical technician, firefighter, state fire
marshal or employee, county correctional officer
or employee or
state correctional officer
or employee acting in his or her
official capacity in reasonable apprehension of immediately
receiving a violent injury, he
or she shall be is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be confined in the
county or regional jail for not less than twenty-four hours nor
more than six months, or fined not more than two hundred
dollars, or both such fine and imprisonment.
(e)
Police officer defined. -- As used in this section, a
police officer means any officer employed by the
division of public safety state police, any county law-enforcement agency,
any officer employed by the state to perform law-enforcement
duties or any police officer employed by any city or
municipality 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
such is defined in section forty-one, article three, chapter
sixty-one of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to extend the protections
against assault provided by this section to state and county
correctional employees, humane officers, emergency medical
technicians and firefighters
and the state fire marshal and his
or her employees, in addition to state and county correctional
officers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that
would be added.
This bill is recommended for passage in the 1998 session by
the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and
Correctional Facility Authority.