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Assault On A Peace Officer Texas
Assaulting A Police Officer Charge In Houston, TX
All states including Texas consider assaulting a police officer a serious offense. Generally, assault is already considered as an offense categorized as a very violent crime. You are likely to have other charges brought against you if have been charged with assaulting a police officer.
You should fight any charges related to assaulting a police officer and should never settle. Things can be tricky following a
aggravated assault on a police officer so hiring an experienced criminal defense lawyer to handle this case is necessary if you want to protect your future.
What Is Assault?
Is Assaulting A Police Officer A Felony
Assault is not just a confrontation between two parties and does not always have to be violent. Most people assume that resisting arrest or violent confrontations with a law enforcement officer equals assault. But even actions that most people would consider benign can result in an assault charge.
Some examples of actions that may be considered assaulting a police officer include:
- Angrily saying something in a way to make an officer fear that you want to inflict bodily injury
- Touching a police officer in a way that is offensive or harmful
- Driving too close to a police officer parked by the side of the road
This shows that you may be accused of assaulting a police officer even if that was not your intention.
How Texas Law Defines Assault
Penalties For Assaulting A Police Officer In Texas
According to the Texas Penal Code, assault can be understood in three different actions:
- Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to another person
- Intentionally or knowingly threatening another person with bodily injury
- Intentionally or knowingly causing physical contact with another person when you know or believe that that person will regard that contact as offensive or provocative
You have to consider what the law means when it mentions words like bodily harm, intentional, knowing, reckless, provocative, and so on to understand your case. You should also know that while assault and aggravated assault are sometimes used interchangeably, aggravated assault involves the use of a gun or other types of lethal weapons.
Why Assaulting a Police Officer Is A Hate Crime
Sentence For Assaulting An Officer In Houston, TX
Texas governor, Greg Abbot signed H.B.2908 into law in 2017, which made assaulting a police officer a hate crime. The bill indicates:
“In the trial of an offense under Title 5, Penal Code, or Section 28.02, 28.03, or 28.08, Penal Code, the judge shall make an affirmative finding of fact and enter the affirmative finding in the judgment of the case if at the guilt or innocence phase of the trial, the judge or the jury, whichever is the trier of fact, determines beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intentionally selected the person against whom the offense was committed, or intentionally selected the person’s property that was damaged or affected as a result of the offense, because of the defendant’s bias or prejudice against a group identified by race, color, disability, religion, national origin or ancestry, age, gender, or sexual preference or by status as a peace officer or judge.”
Assault of a police charge often leads to serving years in prison and paying a lot of money in fines if convicted. Finding the best Houston criminal defense attorney will ensure you are informed about the Assault laws in Texas.