§ 53a-167c — Assault of public safety, emergency medical, public transit or health care personnel: Class C felony.

Connecticut § 53a-167c

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 53a: Penal Code
• Ch. 952: Penal Code: Offenses

Text

(a) A person is guilty of assault of public safety, emergency medical, public transit or health care personnel when, with intent to prevent a reasonably identifiable peace officer, firefighter or employee of an emergency medical service organization, as defined in section 53a-3, emergency room physician or nurse, health care employee as defined in section 19a-490q, employee of the Department of Correction, member or employee of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, probation officer, employee of the Judicial Branch assigned to provide pretrial or post-conviction secure detention and programming services to juveniles accused of the commission of a delinquent act, liquor control agent, state or municipal animal control officer, security officer, employee of the Department of Children and Families assigned to provide direct services to children and youths in the care or custody of the department, employee of a municipal police department assigned to provide security at the police department's lockup and holding facility, active individual member of a volunteer canine search and rescue team, as defined in section 5-249, or public transit employee from performing his or her duties, and while such peace officer, firefighter, employee, physician, nurse, health care employee, member, liquor control agent, animal control officer, security officer, probation officer or active individual member is acting in the performance of his or her duties, (1) such person causes physical injury to such peace officer, firefighter, employee, physician, nurse, member, liquor control agent, animal control officer, security officer, probation officer or active individual member, or (2) such person throws or hurls, or causes to be thrown or hurled, any rock, bottle, can or other article, object or missile of any kind capable of causing physical harm, damage or injury, at such peace officer, firefighter, employee, physician, nurse, member, liquor control agent, animal control officer, security officer, probation officer or active individual member, or (3) such person uses or causes to be used any mace, tear gas or any like or similar deleterious agent against such peace officer, firefighter, employee, physician, nurse, member, liquor control agent, animal control officer, security officer, probation officer or active individual member, or (4) such person throws or hurls, or causes to be thrown or hurled, any paint, dye or other like or similar staining, discoloring or coloring agent or any type of offensive or noxious liquid, agent or substance at such peace officer, firefighter, employee, physician, nurse, member, liquor control agent, animal control officer, security officer, probation officer or active individual member, or (5) such person throws or hurls, or causes to be thrown or hurled, any bodily fluid including, but not limited to, urine, feces, blood or saliva at such peace officer, firefighter, employee, physician, nurse, member, liquor control agent, animal control officer, security officer, probation officer or active individual member. For the purposes of this section, “public transit employee” means a person employed by the state, a political subdivision of the state, a transit district formed under chapter 103a or a person with whom the Commissioner of Transportation has contracted in accordance with section 13b-34 to provide transportation services who operates a vehicle or vessel providing public ferry service or fixed route bus service or performs duties directly related to the operation of such vehicle or vessel, or who, as part of the provision of public rail service, is a train operator, conductor, inspector, signal person or station agent and “security officer” has the same meaning as provided in section 29-152u. (b) Assault of public safety, emergency medical, public transit or health care personnel is a class C felony. If any person who is confined in an institution or facility of the Department of Correction is sentenced to a term of imprisonment for assault of an employee of the Department of Correction under this section, such term shall run consecutively to the term for which the person was serving at the time of the assault. (c) In any prosecution under this section involving assault of a health care employee, as defined in section 19a-490q , it shall be an affirmative defense that the defendant is a person with a disability as described in subdivision (13), (15) or (20) of section 46a-51 and the defendant's conduct was a clear and direct manifestation of the disability, except that for the purposes of this subsection, “mental disability”, as defined in subdivision (20) of section 46a-51 , does not include any abnormality manifested only by repeated criminal or antisocial conduct. See Sec. 53a-59b re assault of an employee of the Department of Correction in the first degree.

Legislative History

(P.A. 73-639, S. 19; P.A. 90-157, S. 2; 90-250, S. 2; P.A. 93-246, S. 1; P.A. 94-62; P.A. 98-41; P.A. 99-26, S. 28; 99-204; P.A. 01-84, S. 13, 26; P.A. 03-6, S. 1; 03-19, S. 126; P.A. 04-234, S. 2; 04-241, S. 3; 04-257, S. 120; P.A. 05-108, S. 7; 05-180, S. 6; P.A. 06-196, S. 185; P.A. 08-150, S. 54; P.A. 09-191, S. 2; P.A. 10-36, S. 24; P.A. 11-175, S. 4; P.A. 13-111, S. 1; P.A. 15-211, S. 15; P.A. 17-216, S. 3; P.A. 19-108, S. 8; P.A. 22-117, S. 14; P.A. 23-46, S. 9.) History: P.A. 90-157 applied provisions to assaults of employees of an emergency medical service organization; P.A. 90-250 applied provisions to employees of the department of correction, specified that assault must occur while peace officer, fireman or correction department employee is acting in performance of his duties and added provision re consecutive sentences for persons sentenced for assault of correction department employees; P.A. 93-246 applied provisions to assault of an employee or member of the board of parole or probation officer; P.A. 94-62 applied the provisions to emergency room physicians and emergency room nurses; P.A. 98-41 applied provisions to an assault of an employee of the Judicial Branch assigned to provide pretrial secure detention and programming services to juveniles accused of the commission of a delinquent act or an assault of an employee of the Department of Children and Families performing duties at Long Lane School; P.A. 99-26 revised the category of employees of the Department of Children and Families to which provisions apply by replacing an employee “performing duties at Long Lane School” with an employee “assigned to provide direct services to children and youth in the care or custody of the department”; P.A. 99-204 added Subsec. (a)(5) re throwing or hurling any bodily fluid at specified personnel and changed the name of the offense to “assault of public safety or emergency medical personnel” where appearing; P.A. 01-84 replaced “fireman” with “firefighter” in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (a) to apply provisions to assault of an employee of a municipal police department assigned to provide security at the police department's lockup and holding facility and make a technical change for the purpose of gender neutrality; P.A. 03-19 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), effective May 12, 2003; P.A. 04-234 replaced Board of Parole with Board of Pardons and Paroles, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-241 applied provisions to assaults of active individual members of volunteer canine search and rescue teams; P.A. 04-257 amended Subsec. (a) to delete reference to an employee of the Board of Parole, effective June 14, 2004; P.A. 05-108 amended Subsec. (a) to restore reference to an employee of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, effective June 7, 2005; P.A. 05-180 amended Subsec. (a) to apply provisions to assault of a special policeman appointed under Sec. 29-18b; P.A. 06-196 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), effective June 7, 2006; P.A. 08-150 amended Subsec. (a) to apply provisions to assault of Department of Motor Vehicles inspector appointed under Sec. 14-8 and certified pursuant to Sec. 7-294d; P.A. 09-191 amended Subsec. (a) to define and apply provisions to a “public transit employee”, and changed name of the offense to “assault of public safety, emergency medical or public transit personnel”; P.A. 10-36 amended Subsec. (a) to replace “Department of Motor Vehicles inspector appointed” with “motor vehicle inspector designated”, effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 11-175 amended Subsec. (a) to apply provisions to assault of a “health care employee as defined in section 19a-490q” and added Subsec. (c) re disability defense for defendant being prosecuted for assault of a health care employee; P.A. 13-111 amended Subsec. (a) by adding references to liquor control agent; P.A. 15-211 amended Subsec. (a) to add references to state or municipal animal control officer and security officer, redefine “public transit employee” by adding provision re public rail service and add definition of “security officer”; P.A. 17-216 amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “a defense” with “an affirmative defense” and defining “mental disability”; P.A. 19-108 amended Subsec. (a) to delete references to motor vehicle inspector; P.A. 22-117 amended Subsec. (a) to delete references to special policeman appointed under Sec. 29-18b, effective May 27, 2022; P.A. 23-46 amended Subsec. (a) to include Judicial Branch employee assigned to provide post-conviction secure detention, effective July 1, 2023. Cited. 214 C. 195; 231 C. 545; 234 C. 78; 236 C. 31; 237 C. 454; Id., 633. Cited. 3 CA 353; 10 CA 486; 12 CA 364; 14 CA 10; 27 CA 103; 32 CA 224; 37 CA 338; 40 CA 601; 43 CA 61; Id., 76; 46 CA 118. Under Sec. 53a-23, the illegality of an arrest is not a defense to charges under this section which was intended to require an arrestee to submit to an arrest, even though he believes, and may ultimately establish, that the arrest was without probable cause or was otherwise unlawful; it was not intended to require an arrestee to submit to egregiously unlawful conduct–such as an unprovoked assault–by the police in the course of an arrest, whether the arrest was legal or illegal. 79 CA 667. Interfering with an officer is lesser offense included in greater offense of assault of public safety personnel and thus conviction of both offenses for same act constituted double jeopardy violation. 86 CA 607. Cited. 33 CS 4; 39 CS 347. Subsec. (a): Cited. 201 C. 605; 205 C. 370; 228 C. 910; 233 C. 502. Judgment of Appellate Court in 37 CA 500 reversed in part to affirm judgment of trial court with respect to charges under section. 237 C. 633. Trial court improperly prevented defendant from offering evidence re first element of the crime, namely, whether the officer was performing his assigned duties when defendant struck him. 255 C. 581. In order to sustain conviction under statute, there must be a finding that police officers had been acting in the performance of their duties. 261 C. 553. Cited. 1 CA 709; 9 CA 169; judgment reversed, see 205 C. 370; 23 CA 160; Id., 315; Id., 447; Id., 663; 28 CA 469; 30 CA 606; 31 CA 178; 33 CA 509; Id., 743; judgment reversed, see 233 C. 502; 35 CA 431; Id., 699; 37 CA 500; Id., 635; 38 CA 306; 39 CA 333; Id., 657; Id., 789; 43 CA 480; Id., 578; 44 CA 264. In determining whether an assault has been committed, defendant's act does not have to be wholly or partially successful, nor must the act defeat or delay the performance of a duty in which the officer is then engaged, but instead, defendant must only have intended to prevent the officer from performing his or her duties. 112 CA 324. Conviction of both assault of peace officer under Subdiv. (1) and interfering with officer under Sec. 53a-167a(a) constitutes double jeopardy; Subdiv. (1) is not unconstitutionally void for vagueness re defendant's conduct because it provides fair warning that a specific intent to injure officer is not an element of the offense. 119 CA 556. Under facts presented, conviction under Subdiv. (5) and interfering with officer under Sec. 53a-167a does not violate double jeopardy because each crime required proof of different facts. 124 CA 294. Subdiv. (1): Conviction of both interfering with a peace officer under Sec. 53a-167a and assault of public safety personnel under this section does not constitute double jeopardy when evidence demonstrates that the two crimes did not stem from the same conduct. 167 CA 281; judgment affirmed, see 328 C. 648. Subsec. (b): Legislature intended to deter all prisoners being held in Connecticut facilities, whether there temporarily or for duration of a sentence, from assaulting employees of those facilities and therefore trial court lacked discretion to impose a sentence concurrent to defendant's federal sentence. 63 CA 386.