HF 1399

2nd Engrossment - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to crime; imposing penalties for assaulting a 
  1.3             police horse while it is being used for law 
  1.4             enforcement purposes; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 609. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [609.597] [ASSAULTING OR HARMING A POLICE 
  1.8   HORSE; PENALTIES.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITION.] As used in this section, 
  1.10  "police horse" means a horse that has been trained for crowd 
  1.11  control and other law enforcement purposes and is used to assist 
  1.12  peace officers in the performance of their official duties. 
  1.13     Subd. 2.  [CRIME.] Whoever assaults or intentionally harms 
  1.14  a police horse while the horse is being used or maintained for 
  1.15  use by a law enforcement agency is guilty of a crime and may be 
  1.16  sentenced as provided in subdivision 3. 
  1.17     Subd. 3.  [PENALTIES.] A person convicted of violating 
  1.18  subdivision 2 may be sentenced as follows: 
  1.19     (1) if a peace officer, or any other person suffers great 
  1.20  bodily harm or death as a result of the violation, the person 
  1.21  may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or 
  1.22  to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both; 
  1.23     (2) if the police horse suffers death or great bodily harm 
  1.24  as a result of the violation, or if a peace officer suffers 
  1.25  demonstrable bodily harm as a result of the violation, the 
  2.1   person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than two 
  2.2   years or to payment of a fine of not more than $4,000, or both; 
  2.3      (3) if the police horse suffers demonstrable bodily harm as 
  2.4   a result of the violation, the person may be sentenced to 
  2.5   imprisonment for not more than one year and one day or to 
  2.6   payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both; 
  2.7      (4) if a peace officer is involuntarily unseated from the 
  2.8   police horse or any person, other than the peace officer, 
  2.9   suffers demonstrable bodily harm as a result of the violation, 
  2.10  the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 
  2.11  one year or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or 
  2.12  both; 
  2.13     (5) if a violation other than one described in clauses (1) 
  2.14  to (4) occurs, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for 
  2.15  not more than 90 days or to payment of a fine of not more than 
  2.16  $700, or both. 
  2.17     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.18     Section 1 is effective the date following final enactment 
  2.19  and applies to crimes committed on or after that date.