ENROLLED
H. B. 2770
(By Delegate Ellem, Webster, Hamilton, Proudfoot, Schadler,
Guthrie, Shook, Burdiss, Amores, Kessler and Mahan)
[Passed March 10, 2007; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §61-2-10b of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; relating to court security personnel and
Public Service Commission motor carrier inspector and
enforcement officer; enhancing penalties for certain acts
against court security personnel and Public Service Commission
motor carrier inspector and enforcement officer; defining
"court security personnel" and "Public Service Commission
motor carrier inspector and enforcement officer"; and
incorporating certain acts previously enacted by the
Legislature during the 2007 regular session.
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.
(a) 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, 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 and the person committing the
malicious assault knows or has reason to know that the victim is
acting in his or her official capacity 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) 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, 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 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 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) 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,
firefighter, State Fire Marshal or employee, Division of Forestry
employee, county correctional employee, state correctional
employee, employee of a mass transportation system, court security
personnel or Public Service Commission motor carrier inspector and
enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity, or
unlawfully and intentionally causes physical harm to that person
acting in such capacity, 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 five hundred dollars, 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 one thousand dollars 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 two
thousand dollars or both fined and confined.
(d) 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, firefighter, State Fire Marshal or employee,
Division of Forestry employee, county correctional employee, state
correctional employee, employee of a mass transportation system,
court security personnel or Public Service Commission motor carrier
inspector and enforcement officer acting in his or her official
capacity, or unlawfully commits an act which places that person
acting in his or her official capacity 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 two hundred dollars, or both fined and confined.
(e) For purposes of this section:
(1) "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.
(2) "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.
(3) "Division of Forestry employee" means an officer, agent,
employee or servant, whether full-time or not, of the Division of
Forestry.
(4) "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.
(5) "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.