H.B.
145
127th General Assembly
(As Introduced)
Reps. Driehaus, Mallory
BILL SUMMARY
· Provides that the penalties for felonious assault, aggravated assault, and assault committed against a participant in a citizens on patrol program are the same as the penalties for felonious assault, aggravated assault, and assault committed against a peace officer or a BCII investigator.
CONTENT AND OPERATION
Under current law, if a person commits felonious assault, aggravated assault, or assault[1] and the victim of the assault is a peace officer or an investigator of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCII), the penalty for the offense is elevated: in the case of felonious assault the penalty is raised from a felony of the second degree to a felony of the first degree, with a mandatory prison term equal to one of the prison terms prescribed for a felony of the first degree if the peace officer or BCII investigator victim suffers serious physical harm; in the case of aggravated assault, the penalty is raised from a felony of the fourth degree to a felony of the third degree, with a mandatory prison term equal to one of the prison terms prescribed for a felony of the third degree if the peace officer or BCII investigator victim suffers serious physical harm; and in the case of assault, the penalty is raised from a misdemeanor of the first degree to a felony of the fourth degree, with a mandatory prison term equal to one of the prison terms prescribed for a felony of the fourth degree if the peace officer or BCII investigator victim suffers serious physical harm (R.C. 2903.11(D), 2903.12(B), and 2903.13(C)(3) and (4)).
The bill imposes the same criminal penalties for assaulting a "participant" in a "citizens on patrol program" (defined in "Definitions," below) as are imposed for assaulting a peace officer or BCII investigator. Thus, felonious assault committed against a participant in a citizens on patrol program is a felony of the first degree, with a mandatory prison term equal to one of the prison terms prescribed for a felony of the first degree if the participant suffers serious physical harm. Aggravated assault committed against a participant in a citizens on patrol program is a felony of the third degree, with a mandatory prison term equal to one of the prison terms prescribed for a felony of the third degree if the participant suffers serious physical harm. Assault committed against a participant in a citizens on patrol program is a felony of the fourth degree, with a mandatory prison term equal to one of the prison terms prescribed for a felony of the third degree if the participant suffers serious physical harm. (R.C. 2903.11(D), 2903.12(B), and 2903.13(C)(3) and (4).)
The bill defines "citizens on patrol program" as meaning a law enforcement volunteer program that is registered with the Volunteers in Police Service Program that is administered by the International Association of Chiefs of Police on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice and that is formed in affiliation or association with, and trained by, a law enforcement agency to observe activities within a neighborhood, to report the volunteer's observations to the law enforcement agency, and to take other actions intended to reduce crime in the neighborhood. (R.C. 2903.11(E)(7) and referenced in R.C. 2903.12(C)(1) and 2903.13(D)(10).)
"Participant in a citizens on patrol program" is defined by the bill as meaning a person engaged in or traveling to or from a meeting, neighborhood patrol, or other scheduled activity of a citizens on patrol program (R.C. 2903.11(E)(8) and referenced in R.C. 2903.12(C)(1) and 2903.13(D)(10)).
Finally, the bill defines "law enforcement agency" as having the same meaning as in R.C. 109.573 of the Revised Code while also including the office of any village marshal, any police force of a metropolitan housing authority, any state university law enforcement department, and the office of any township constable (R.C. 2903.11(E)(9) and referenced in R.C. 2903.12(C)(1) and 2903.13(D)(10)).[2]
A person commits
the offense of felonious assault if a person knowingly does
either of the following (R.C. 2903.11(A)):
(1) Causes
serious physical harm to another or to another's unborn;
(2) Causes
or attempts to cause physical harm to another or to another's unborn by means
of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance.
A
person also commits the offense of felonious assault if the person, with
knowledge that the person has tested positive as a carrier of a virus that
causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, knowingly does any of the following
(R.C. 2903.11(B)):
(1) Engages
in sexual conduct with another person without disclosing that knowledge to the
other person prior to engaging in the sexual conduct;
(2) Engages
in sexual conduct with a person whom the offender knows or has reasonable cause
to believe lacks the mental capacity to appreciate the significance of the
knowledge that the offender has tested positive as a carrier of a virus that
causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome;
(3) Engages
in sexual conduct with a person under 18 years of age who is not the spouse of
the offender.
The
penalty for felonious assault is a felony of the second degree unless the
victim is a peace officer or BCII investigator, in which case felonious assault
is a felony of the first degree, with a mandatory prison term equal to one of the
prison terms prescribed for a felony of the first degree if the peace officer
or BCII investigator suffers serious physical harm (R.C. 2903.11(D)).
A person commits the offense of aggravated assault if the person, while under the influence of sudden passion or in a sudden fit of rage, either of which is brought on by serious provocation occasioned by the victim that is reasonably sufficient to incite the person into using deadly force, knowingly does either of the following (R.C. 2903.12(A)):
(1) Causes serious physical harm to another or to another's unborn;
(2) Causes or attempts to cause physical harm to another or to another's unborn by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance.
The
penalty for aggravated assault is a felony of the fourth degree unless the
victim is a peace officer or BCII investigator, in which case felonious assault
is a felony of the third degree, and the court must impose a mandatory prison
term equal to one of the prison terms prescribed for a felony of the third
degree if the peace officer or BCII investigator victim suffers serious
physical harm (R.C. 2903.12(B)).
A person commits the offense of assault if the person either knowingly causes or attempts to cause physical harm to another or to another's unborn or recklessly causes serious physical harm to another or to another's unborn. The penalty for assault ranges from a misdemeanor of the first degree to a felony of the third degree depending on where the offense was committed and the status of the victim. (R.C. 2903.13.)
HISTORY
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ACTION |
DATE |
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Introduced |
04-05-07 |
h0145-i-127.doc/kl
[1] See "Background: felonious assault, aggravated assault, and
assault,"
below for an explanation of these offenses.
[2] R.C. 109.573(A)(8)
defines "law enforcement agency" as meaning a police
department, the office of a sheriff, the state highway patrol, a county
prosecuting attorney, or a federal, state, or local governmental body that
enforces criminal laws and that has employees who have a statutory power of
arrest.