H. B. 2710
(By Delegates Mahan, Eldridge, Ennis,
Hutchins, Longstreth, Spencer, Ashley and Rowan)
[Introduced February 20, 2009; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-2-10b of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to crimes against public safety,
services or enforcement officials; altering elements of crimes
of battery and assault against a public safety, services or
enforcement official; adding specified employees of the
Department of Health and Human Resources as protected
officials; and providing penalties.
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, county or state correctional employees,
Public Service Commission motor carrier inspector and enforcement officer and court security
personnel; penalties.
(e) (a) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Court security personnel" means any person employed by a
circuit court, family court, magistrate court, county commission,
sheriff, the state or other political subdivision to operate and
maintain security devices, including, but not limited to, a metal
detector, X-ray machine, video monitoring equipment and/or other
security devices, prevent or detect crime, enforce the laws of this
state or otherwise provide court security.
(2) "Designated employee of the Department of Health and Human
Resources" means any person employed by the Department of Health
and Human Resources as a social worker, child or adult protective
service worker, economic social worker, child support collection
worker, family support worker, public health worker, regulatory
enforcement worker, investigator for the office of inspector
general, or licensing worker.
(2) (3) "Division of Forestry employee" means an officer,
agent, employee or servant, whether full-time or not, of the
Division of Forestry.
(3) (4) "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.
(4) (5) "Health care worker" means any nurse, nurse practitioner, physician, physician assistant or technician
practicing at, and all persons employed by, a hospital, county or
district health department, long-term care facility, physician's
office, clinic or outpatient treatment facility.
(5) (6) "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.
(6) (7) "Protective services worker" means an employee of the
Department of Health and Human Resources employed as, or a person
contracted with the Department of Health and Human Resources as, a
child or adult protective services worker.
(8) "Public safety, services or enforcement official" means
any person acting in his or her official capacity as a police
officer, probation officer, conservation officer, humane officer,
emergency medical service personnel, firefighter, State Fire
Marshal or employee thereof, Division of Forestry employee, county
correctional employee or state correctional employee, employee of
an urban mass transportation system, designated employee of the
Department of Health and Human Resources, or Public Service
Commission motor carrier inspector.
(7) (9) "Public Service Commission motor carrier inspector and
enforcement officer" means an officer, agent or employee of the Public Service Commission charged with the enforcement of
commercial motor vehicle safety and weight restriction laws of the
State of West Virginia.
(a) (b) 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, health care worker, protective services
worker, firefighter, State Fire Marshal or employee, Division of
Forestry employee, county correctional employee or state
correctional employee, employee of an urban mass transportation
system, court security personnel or Public Service Commission motor
carrier inspector and enforcement officer acting in his or her
official capacity public safety, services or enforcement
official and the person committing the malicious assault knows or
has reason to know that the victim is
acting in his or her official
capacity a public safety, services or enforcement official 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) (c) 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, health care worker,
protective services worker, firefighter, State Fire Marshal or
employee, Division of Forestry employee, county correctional employee or state correctional employee, employee of an urban mass
transportation system, court security personnel or Public Service
Commission motor carrier inspector and enforcement officer acting
in his or her official capacity public safety, services or
enforcement official a 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
acting in his or her official capacity a public safety, services or
enforcement official 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) (d) 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,
health care worker, protective services worker, firefighter, State
Fire Marshal or employee, Division of Forestry employee, county
correctional employee, state correctional employee, employee of an
urban mass transportation system, court security personnel or
Public Service Commission motor carrier inspector and enforcement
officer acting in his or her official capacity, public safety,
services or enforcement official, and the person committing the
unlawful act knows or has reason to know that the victim is a
public safety, services or enforcement official, or unlawfully and
intentionally causes physical harm to
that person acting in such
capacity public safety, services or enforcement official, and the person committing the unlawful act knows or has reason to know that
the victim is a public safety, services or enforcement official, is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
confined in jail for not less than one month nor more than twelve
months, fined the sum of $500, 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 $1,000 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 $2,000 or both fined and confined.
(d) (e) 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, health care worker, protective services
worker, firefighter, State Fire Marshal or employee, Division of
Forestry employee, county correctional employee, state correctional
employee, employee of an urban mass transportation system, court
security personnel or Public Service Commission motor carrier
inspector and enforcement officer acting in his or her official
capacity public safety, services or enforcement official, and the
person committing the unlawful act knows or has reason to know that
the victim is a public safety, services or enforcement official, or
unlawfully commits an act which places
that person acting in his or her official capacity a public safety, services or enforcement
official, and the person committing the unlawful act knows or has
reason to know that the victim is a public safety, services or
enforcement official, in reasonable apprehension of immediately
receiving a violent injury, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for not less than
twenty-four hours nor more than six months, fined not more than
$200, or both fined and confined.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill creates an increased criminal
penalty to commit malicious assault, unlawful assault, battery or
assault upon a child protective services caseworker or as a local
adult protective services caseworker employee.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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