1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to public safety; expanding the fourth-degree assault crime and the 
1.3 	assaulting a police horse crime to provide more protection to law enforcement 
1.4 	assistants; amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 609.2231, by adding a 
1.5 	subdivision; 609.597; 626.84, subdivision 1.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 609.2231, is amended by adding a 
1.8 	subdivision to read:
1.9 		Subd. 8.Reserve officer. A person is guilty of a gross misdemeanor who:
1.10 	(1) assaults a reserve officer as defined in section 626.84, subdivision 1, paragraph 
1.11 	(e), who is engaged in the performance of official public duties at the direction of, under 
1.12 	the control of, or on behalf of a peace officer or supervising law enforcement officer 
1.13 	or agency; and 
1.14 	(2) should reasonably know that the victim is a reserve officer engaged in the 
1.15 	performance of official public duties of the peace officer, or supervising law enforcement 
1.16 	officer or agency.

1.17 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2011, and applies to crimes 
1.18 	committed on or after that date.

1.19 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 609.597, is amended to read:
1.20 	609.597 ASSAULTING OR HARMING POLICE HORSE; PENALTIES.
1.21 		Subdivision 1.Definition. As used in this section, "police horse" means a horse 
1.22 	that has been trained for crowd control and other law enforcement purposes and is used to 
1.23 	assist peace officers or reserve officers in the performance of their official duties.
2.1 		Subd. 2.Crime. Whoever assaults or intentionally harms a police horse while the 
2.2 	horse is being used or maintained for use by a law enforcement agency, or while under the 
2.3 	control of a reserve officer who is operating at the direction of, under the control of, or 
2.4 	on behalf of a peace officer or a law enforcement agency, is guilty of a crime and may 
2.5 	be sentenced as provided in subdivision 3.
2.6 		Subd. 3.Penalties. A person convicted of violating subdivision 2 may be sentenced 
2.7 	as follows:
2.8 	(1) if a peace officer, a reserve officer, or any other person suffers great bodily harm 
2.9 	or death as a result of the violation, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not 
2.10 	more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both;
2.11 	(2) if the police horse suffers death or great bodily harm as a result of the violation, 
2.12 	or if a peace officer or a reserve officer suffers demonstrable bodily harm as a result of 
2.13 	the violation, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than two years 
2.14 	or to payment of a fine of not more than $4,000, or both;
2.15 	(3) if the police horse suffers demonstrable bodily harm as a result of the violation, 
2.16 	the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year and one day 
2.17 	or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both;
2.18 	(4) if a peace officer or a reserve officer is involuntarily unseated from the police 
2.19 	horse or any person, other than the peace officer or reserve officer, suffers demonstrable 
2.20 	bodily harm as a result of the violation, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for 
2.21 	not more than one year or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both;
2.22 	(5) if a violation other than one described in clauses (1) to (4) occurs, the person 
2.23 	may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 90 days or to payment of a fine of 
2.24 	not more than $1,000, or both.

2.25 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2011, and applies to crimes 
2.26 	committed on or after that date.

2.27 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 626.84, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
2.28 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. For purposes of sections 626.84 to 626.863, the 
2.29 	following terms have the meanings given them:
2.30 	(a) "Board" means the Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training.
2.31 	(b) "Director" means the executive director of the board.
2.32 	(c) "Peace officer" means:
2.33 	(1) an employee or an elected or appointed official of a political subdivision or 
2.34 	law enforcement agency who is licensed by the board, charged with the prevention and 
2.35 	detection of crime and the enforcement of the general criminal laws of the state and who 
3.1 	has the full power of arrest, and shall also include the Minnesota State Patrol, agents of the 
3.2 	Division of Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement, state conservation officers, Metropolitan 
3.3 	Transit police officers, Department of Corrections Fugitive Apprehension Unit officers, 
3.4 	and Department of Commerce Insurance Fraud Unit officers, and the statewide coordinator 
3.5 	of the Violent Crime Coordinating Council; and
3.6 	(2) a peace officer who is employed by a law enforcement agency of a federally 
3.7 	recognized tribe, as defined in United States Code, title 25, section 450b(e), and who 
3.8 	is licensed by the board.
3.9 	(d) "Part-time peace officer" means an individual licensed by the board whose 
3.10 	services are utilized by law enforcement agencies no more than an average of 20 hours per 
3.11 	week, not including time spent on call when no call to active duty is received, calculated 
3.12 	on an annual basis, who has either full powers of arrest or authorization to carry a 
3.13 	firearm while on active duty. The term shall apply even though the individual receives 
3.14 	no compensation for time spent on active duty, and shall apply irrespective of the title 
3.15 	conferred upon the individual by any law enforcement agency.
3.16 	(e) "Reserve officer" means an individual whose services are utilized by a law 
3.17 	enforcement agency to provide supplementary assistance at special events, traffic or 
3.18 	crowd control, and administrative or clerical assistance, and shall include reserve deputies, 
3.19 	special deputies, mounted or unmounted patrols, and all other employees or volunteers 
3.20 	performing reserve officer functions. A reserve officer's duties do not include enforcement 
3.21 	of the general criminal laws of the state, and the officer does not have full powers of arrest 
3.22 	or authorization to carry a firearm on duty.
3.23 	(f) "Law enforcement agency" means:
3.24 	(1) a unit of state or local government that is authorized by law to grant full powers 
3.25 	of arrest and to charge a person with the duties of preventing and detecting crime and 
3.26 	enforcing the general criminal laws of the state; and
3.27 	(2) subject to the limitations in section 626.93, a law enforcement agency of a 
3.28 	federally recognized tribe, as defined in United States Code, title 25, section 450b(e).
3.29 	(g) "Professional peace officer education" means a postsecondary degree program, 
3.30 	or a nondegree program for persons who already have a college degree, that is offered by 
3.31 	a college or university in Minnesota, designed for persons seeking licensure as a peace 
3.32 	officer, and approved by the board.

3.33 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2011.