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Statute:
784.07 Assault or battery of law enforcement officers,
firefighters, emergency medical care providers, public transit
employees or agents, or other specified officers;
reclassification of offenses; minimum sentences.
Incarceration, house arrest,
extensive community service, probation and/or expensive court
costs can result from an arrest for assault or battery of law
enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical care
providers, public transit employees or agents, or other
specified officers. Former Broward County Prosecutor Leah H.
Mayersohn knows the law. Having served successfully on both
sides—prosecution and defense—she is in the most advantageous
position to advise you and protect your rights. Her
professionalism and trial experience have earned her multiple
awards, including Best of the US, Top Lawyer, and Martindale
Hubbell’s AV rating.
Call Leah H. Mayersohn NOW.
This is a serious offense with potentially serious consequences.
(1) As used in this section, the term:
(a) "Law enforcement officer" includes a law enforcement
officer, a correctional officer, a correctional probation
officer, a part-time law enforcement officer, a part-time
correctional officer, an auxiliary law enforcement officer, and
an auxiliary correctional officer, as those terms are
respectively defined in s. 943.10, and any county probation
officer; an employee or agent of the Department of Corrections
who supervises or provides services to inmates; an officer of
the Parole Commission; a federal law enforcement officer as
defined in s. 901.1505; and law enforcement personnel of the
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Department of
Environmental Protection, or the Department of Law Enforcement.
(b) "Firefighter" means any person employed by any public
employer of this state whose duty it is to extinguish fires; to
protect life or property; or to enforce municipal, county, and
state fire prevention codes, as well as any law pertaining to
the prevention and control of fires.
(c) "Emergency medical care provider" means an ambulance driver,
emergency medical technician, paramedic, registered nurse,
physician as defined in s. 401.23, medical director as defined
in s. 401.23, or any person authorized by an emergency medical
service licensed under chapter 401 who is engaged in the
performance of his or her duties. The term "emergency medical
care provider" also includes physicians, employees, agents, or
volunteers of hospitals as defined in chapter 395, who are
employed, under contract, or otherwise authorized by a hospital
to perform duties directly associated with the care and
treatment rendered by the hospital's emergency department or the
security thereof.
(d) "Public transit employees or agents" means bus operators,
train operators, revenue collectors, security personnel,
equipment maintenance personnel, or field supervisors, who are
employees or agents of a transit agency as described in s.
812.015(1)(l).
(2) Whenever any person is charged with knowingly committing an
assault or battery upon a law enforcement officer, a
firefighter, an emergency medical care provider, a traffic
accident investigation officer as described in s. 316.640, a
nonsworn law enforcement agency employee who is certified as an
agency inspector, blood alcohol analyst, or a breath test
operator while such employee is in uniform and engaged in
processing, testing, evaluating, analyzing, or transporting a
person who is detained or under arrest for DUI, a traffic
infraction enforcement officer as described in s. 316.640, a
parking enforcement specialist as defined in s. 316.640, a
person licensed as a security officer as defined in s. 493.6101
and wearing a uniform that bears at least one patch or emblem
that is visible at all times that clearly identifies the
employing agency and that clearly identifies the person as a
licensed security officer, or a security officer employed by the
board of trustees of a community college, while the officer,
firefighter, emergency medical care provider, intake officer,
traffic accident investigation officer, traffic infraction
enforcement officer, inspector, analyst, operator, parking
enforcement specialist, public transit employee or agent, or
security officer is engaged in the lawful performance of his or
her duties, the offense for which the person is charged shall be
reclassified as follows:
(a) In the case of assault, from a misdemeanor of the second
degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(b) In the case of battery, from a misdemeanor of the first
degree to a felony of the third degree.
(c) In the case of aggravated assault, from a felony of the
third degree to a felony of the second degree. Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, any person convicted of aggravated
assault upon a law enforcement officer shall be sentenced to a
minimum term of imprisonment of 3 years.
(d) In the case of aggravated battery, from a felony of the
second degree to a felony of the first degree. Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, any person convicted of aggravated
battery of a law enforcement officer shall be sentenced to a
minimum term of imprisonment of 5 years.
(3) Any person who is convicted of a battery under paragraph
(2)(b) and, during the commission of the offense, such person
possessed:
(a) A "firearm" or "destructive device" as those terms are
defined in s. 790.001, shall be sentenced to a minimum term of
imprisonment of 3 years.
(b) A semiautomatic firearm and its high-capacity detachable box
magazine, as defined in s. 775.087(3), or a machine gun as
defined in s. 790.001, shall be sentenced to a minimum term of
imprisonment of 8 years.
Notwithstanding s. 948.01, adjudication of guilt or imposition
of sentence shall not be suspended, deferred, or withheld, and
the defendant is not eligible for statutory gain-time under s.
944.275 or any form of discretionary early release, other than
pardon or executive clemency, or conditional medical release
under s. 947.149, prior to serving the minimum sentence.
History.--s.
1, ch. 76-75; s. 1, ch. 77-174; s. 22, ch. 79-8; s. 1, ch.
80-43; s. 1, ch. 85-33; s. 39, ch. 88-122; s. 2, ch. 88-177; s.
3, ch. 88-373; ss. 52, 55, 57, ch. 88-381; s. 43, ch. 89-526; s.
3, ch. 91-174; s. 12, ch. 93-230; s. 472, ch. 94-356; s. 20, ch.
95-184; s. 1, ch. 96-293; s. 57, ch. 96-388; s. 32, ch. 97-280;
s. 1, ch. 98-97; s. 96, ch. 99-3; s. 4, ch. 99-188; s. 227, ch.
99-245; s. 315, ch. 99-248; ss. 1, 2, ch. 2002-209; s. 1, ch.
2006-127; s. 1, ch. 2007-112.
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