ENROLLED

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 2847

(By Delegates Stemple, Martin, Kominar, Tucker and Boggs)


[Passed April 12, 1997; in effect ninety days from passage.]



AN ACT 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 changing a second offense of battery upon a police officer from a misdemeanor to a felony; and increasing penalties for convictions of battery upon a 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, county or state correctional officers; 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, county correctional officer or state correctional officer 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, county correctional officer or state correctional officer acting in his or her official capacity, then the offender shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be punished by confinement in the penitentiary 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, county correctional officer acting in his or her official capacity or state correctional officer 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, county correctional officer or state correctional officer acting in his or her official capacity, then the offender is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be confined toin the penitentiary for a period of 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, county correctional officer or state correctional officer acting in his or her official capacity, or unlawfully and intentionally causes physical harm to a police officer, conservation officer, county correctional officer or state correctional officer acting in such capacity, said person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined to the county or regional jail for a period of not less than forty-eight hours one month nor more than twelve months or fined the sum of five hundred dollars or both fined and imprisoned. If any person commits a second such offense, then such person is guilty of a misdemeanor felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in the county or regional jail the state correctional facility for a period of not less than ten days nor more than twelve months. 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 section subsection is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be confined in the penitentiary state correctional facility for a period of not less than one year two years nor more than five years or fined not more than one 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, county correctional officer or state correctional officer, or unlawfully commits an act which places a police officer, conservation officer, county correctional officer or state correctional officer acting in his or her official capacity in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury, he shall be 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, any county law-enforcement agency, any officer employed by the state to perform policelaw-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.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change a second offense of battery upon a police officer from a misdemeanor to a felony; and to increase the penalties for conviction.


Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.