8 November 2017
 Categories: Law, Blog

Battery against a police officer attracts more serious punishments than battery against other ordinary people. Here are four things that your case must satisfy before it is treated as an assault against a police officer:

You Caused, Attempted To, or Threatened To Injure a Person

Some jurisdictions will only charge you with this offense if you caused actual physical harm to the victim. However, there are many other jurisdictions that will charge you with the same offenses even if you didn't actually harm the victim, but only threatened or attempted to cause them harm. For example, in a jurisdiction where a mere attempt suffices, trying to fight with a police officer may attract battery charges against a police officer. This is one more reason not to resist arrest, because a violent resistance to arrest may be deemed as battery against a police officer.

The Person Was a Law Enforcement Officer

The next thing that will classify assault against a police officer is if the victim is, indeed, a police officer. However, the definition of "police officer" in this context is wider than most people think; it includes all manner of law enforcement officers. For example, you can be charged with battery against a police officer if the victim is your university's police. Therefore, you should be extra careful when dealing with any person that might be considered law enforcement.

The Officer Was Discharging Their Official Duties

For you to face charges of battery against a police officer, the law enforcement officer must have been in the line of duty when you assaulted them. This means fighting with a police officer who is off duty and drinking in a bar may not attract the same charges as fighting with a police officer who is trying to arrest you for drunk driving. Don't get it wrong; fighting a police officer (or any other person) is wrong, but the severity of the charges or punishments may depend on whether the person was off or on duty.

You Knew or Should Have Known the Person Was A Law Enforcement Officer

Lastly, the prosecution will need to prove that you knew or should have known that the victim was a police officer before you assaulted them. For example, when a person jumps on you in the dark and tries to arrest you without identifying themselves, you won't be charged with battery against a police officer if you try to fight them off. However, you will face these charges if the officer first identified themselves and ordered you to stop but you still went ahead to fight them.

As you can imagine, the police will not treat you with kid gloves if you have been charged with assaulting one of them. If you are facing this kind of charge, this is one of those cases that you shouldn't handle without the help of a criminal defense attorney.