COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2221
(By Delegates Faircloth, Trump, Staton,
Amores, Hunt and Douglas)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[March 12, 1997]
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 obstructing
and fleeing from an officer; providing penalties therefor;
and defining terms for purposes of this section.
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; fleeing
from officer in a vehicle; penalties; definitions.
(a) 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, encourages or incites others to hinder or obstruct or
oppose any civil or military law-enforcement 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 confined in the county or regional jail not exceeding
more than one year.
(b) If Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to
flee by any means other than the use of a vehicle from any civil
or military law-enforcement officer in this state (whether civil
or military) who is attempting to make a lawful arrest of such
the person, and the person who 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 confined in
the county or regional jail for a term not exceeding more than
twelve months one year.
(c) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to flee
in a vehicle from any civil or military law-enforcement officer,
after the officer has given a clear visual or audible signal
directing the person to stop, 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 confined
in the county or regional jail not more than one year.
(d) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to flee
in a vehicle from any civil or military law-enforcement officer,
after the officer has given a clear visual or audible signal
directing the person to stop, and who causes damage to the real
or personal property of any person during or resulting from his
or her flight, 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 confined in the county or
regional jail for not less than six months nor more than one
year.
(e) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to flee
in a vehicle from any civil or military law-enforcement officer,
after the officer has given a clear visual or audible signal
directing the person to stop, and who causes bodily injury to any
person during or resulting from his or her flight, is guilty of
a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the
state correctional facility not less than one nor more than five
years.
(f) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to flee
in a vehicle from any civil or military law-enforcement officer,
after the officer has given a clear visual or audible signal
directing the person to stop, and who causes death to any person
during or resulting from his or her flight, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a definite
term of imprisonment in the state correctional facility which is
not less than three nor more than fifteen years. A person
imprisoned pursuant to the provisions of this subsection is not
eligible for parole prior to having served a minimum of three
years of his or her sentence or the minimum period required by
the provisions of section thirteen, article twelve, chapter
sixty-two, whichever is greater.
(g) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to flee
in a vehicle from any civil or military law-enforcement officer,
after the officer has given a clear visual or audible signal
directing the person to stop, and who is under the influence of
alcohol, controlled substances or drugs at the time, is guilty of
a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the
state correctional facility not less than one nor more than five
years.
(h) For purposes of this section, the term "vehicle"
includes any motor vehicle, motorcycle, motorboat, all-terrain
vehicle or snowmobile, as those terms are defined in section one,
article one, section seventeen-a of this code, whether or not it
is being operated on a public highway at the time and whether or
not it is licensed by the state.
(I) For purposes of this section, the terms "flee,"
"fleeing," and "flight" shall not include any person's reasonable
attempt to travel to a safe place, allowing the pursuing civil or military law-enforcement officer to maintain appropriate
surveillance, for the purpose of complying with the officer's
direction to stop.
NOTE: The purpose of the bill is to amend the law
concerning obstructing and fleeing from a law-enforcement
officer. The bill adds new penalties for instances of vehicular
flight from an officer, including those flights which result in
property damage, bodily injury or death, or which are committed
under the influence or alcohol or drugs. The bill defines the
term "vehicle" for purposes of the section. The bill also
excludes from the definitions of the terms "flee," "fleeing" and
"flight" a person's reasonable attempt to drive to a safe place
before stopping.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.