§ 6-2-508 — Assault and battery on corrections or detention officer; penalties; definitions

(a) A person is guilty of assault and battery on a
corrections or detention officer if he recklessly:
(i) Propels any dangerous substance at the
corrections officer, detention officer or staff member while the
corrections officer, detention officer or staff member is acting
in the course of his official duty, or as a result of the
corrections officer's, detention officer's or staff member's
official duties; or
(ii) Tampers with or alters any item by contaminating
the item with any dangerous substance, if the item may be
handled or consumed by the corrections officer, detention
officer or staff member while the corrections officer, detention
officer or staff member is acting in the course of his official
duty, or as a result of the corrections officer's, detention
officer's or staff member's official duties.
(b) A person is guilty of aggravated assault and battery
on a corrections or detention officer if he intentionally or
knowingly:
(i) Propels any dangerous substance at the
corrections officer, detention officer or staff member while the
corrections officer, detention officer or staff member is acting
in the course of his official duty, or as a result of the
corrections officer's, detention officer's or staff member's
official duties; or
(ii) Tampers with or alters any item by contaminating
the item with any dangerous substance, if the item may be
handled or consumed by the corrections officer, detention
officer or staff member while the corrections officer, detention
officer or staff member is acting in the course of his official
duty, or as a result of the corrections officer's, detention
officer's or staff member's official duties.
(c) A violation of subsection (a) of this section is a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than seven hundred
fifty dollars ($750.00), imprisonment for not more than six (6)
months, or both.
(d) A violation of subsection (b) of this section is a
felony punishable by a fine of not more than five thousand
dollars ($5,000.000), imprisonment for not more than five (5)
years, or both.
(e) A violation of subsection (b) of this section, by a
person who knows he has a contagious life threatening disease
and who commits the violation with the intent to infect a
corrections officer, detention officer or staff member with the
contagious life threatening disease, shall result in the
enhancement of the sentence entered under subsection (d) of this
section by a period of imprisonment for not more than ten (10)
years.
(f) As used in this section:
(i) "Dangerous substance" includes, but is not
limited to, blood, urine, saliva, vomitus, semen and feces;
(ii) "Corrections officer" means a person who is
employed by the department of corrections and works at a
department of corrections facility to care for, supervise and
control persons in the custody of the department of corrections;
(iii) "Detention officer" means a person who is
employed by a county or municipality to care for, supervise and
control persons detained in a jail or holding facility and
includes a peace officer in the detention setting;
(iv) "Staff member" means:
(A) A department of corrections staff member, or
a person employed pursuant to a contract with the department of
corrections, who works with, or in the vicinity of, inmates; and
(B) A volunteer authorized by the department of
corrections or other entity in charge of a corrections facility
to work with, or in the vicinity of, inmates.