A. Every person who, without justifiable or excusable cause, knowingly commits any aggravated assault and battery upon the person of a police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff or highway patrolman, corrections personnel as defined in Section 649 of this title, or any state peace officer employed by any state or federal governmental agency to enforce state laws, while the officer is in the performance of his or her duties shall upon conviction thereof be guilty of a felony, which shall be punishable by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for not more than life or by a fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
B. Every person who, without justifiable or excusable cause, commits any aggravated assault and battery upon a person that the violator knows or should reasonably know is a police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff or highway patrolman, corrections personnel as defined in Section 649 of this title, or any state peace officer employed by any state or federal governmental agency to enforce state laws, that results in maiming as defined in Section 751 of this title, while the officer is in the performance of his or her duties shall upon conviction be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections of not less than five (5) years nor more than life or by a fine not exceeding Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
C. For purposes of this section, aggravated assault and battery upon law officers, includes the physical contact with and in attempt to gain control of the firearm of any police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff, highway patrolman, corrections personnel as defined in Section 649 of this title, or any peace officer employed by any state or federal governmental agency to enforce state laws.
D. This section shall not supersede any other act or acts, but shall be cumulative thereto.
Added by Laws 1969, c. 95, §§ 1, 2, emerg. eff. March 27, 1969. Amended by Laws 1989, c. 183, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1989; Laws 1990, c. 58, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1990; Laws 1997, c. 133, § 222, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 1999, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 5, § 129, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2011, c. 385, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2011; Laws 2015, c. 17, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2015.
NOTE: Laws 1998, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 2, § 23 amended the effective date of Laws 1997, c. 133, § 222 from July 1, 1998, to July 1, 1999.