H. B. 2847
(By Delegates Stemple, Martin, Kominar, Tucker and Boggs)
[Introduced March 28, 1997; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
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 changing a first
or second offense of battery upon a police officer from a
misdemeanor to a felony; penalties.
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, 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 to 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 felony and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be confined to the county or regional
jail in the penitentiary for a period of not less than
forty-eight hours nor more than twelve months one year nor more
than three years or fined the sum of five hundred dollars or
both. 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
penitentiary for a period of not less than ten days nor more than
twelve months. eighteen months nor more than three years or fined
the sum of one thousand dollars or both. 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 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.
(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 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 first or 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.