H. B. 2275
(By Delegates Stemple, Shelton and Williams)
[Introduced
February 16, 2001
; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
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
officer; disarming or attempting to disarm an officer;
fleeing from officer; fleeing from officer in a vehicle;
penalties; definitions.
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, forcibly or illegally hinders or obstructs, or attempts to hinder
or obstruct, any law-enforcement officer, probation officer or
parole officer acting in his or her official capacity 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 confined in the county or
regional jail not more than one year.
(b) Any person who intentionally disarms or attempts to
disarm any law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official
capacity, 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.
(b) (c) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to
flee by any means other than the use of a vehicle from any
law-enforcement officer, probation officer or parole officer
acting in his or her official capacity who is attempting to make
a lawful arrest of the person, and who knows or reasonably
believes that the officer is attempting to arrest him or her, 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 confined in the county or
regional jail not more than one year.
(c) (d) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to flee in a vehicle from any law-enforcement officer, probation
officer or parole officer acting in his or her official capacity,
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) (e) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to
flee in a vehicle from any law-enforcement officer, probation
officer or parole officer acting in his or her official capacity,
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) (f) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to
flee in a vehicle from any law-enforcement officer, probation
officer or parole officer acting in his or her official capacity,
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 a
state correctional facility not less than one nor more than five
years.
(f) (g) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to
flee in a vehicle from any law-enforcement officer, probation
officer or parole officer acting in his or her official capacity,
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 a 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 of this code, whichever is greater.
(g) (h) Any person who intentionally flees or attempts to
flee in a vehicle from any law-enforcement officer, probation
officer or parole officer acting in his or her official capacity,
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 a
state correctional facility not less than one nor more than five
years.
(h) (i) 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, chapter 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) (j) For purposes of this section, the terms "flee,"
"fleeing" and "flight" do not include any person's reasonable
attempt to travel to a safe place, allowing the pursuing
law-enforcement officer to maintain appropriate surveillance, for
the purpose of complying with the officer's direction to stop.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.