1st Engrossment - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 05/16/2018 05:59pm
A bill for an act
relating to public safety; enhancing the penalty for assaulting a police officer;
criminalizing the dissemination of personal information about law enforcement
officials in certain circumstances; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section
609.2231, subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 609.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 609.2231, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
(a) As used in this subdivision, "peace officer" means a
person who is licensed under section 626.845, subdivision 1, and effecting a lawful arrest
or executing any other duty imposed by law.
(b) Whoever physically assaults a peace officer is guilty of a deleted text begin gross misdemeanordeleted text end new text begin felony
and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than two years or to payment of a fine
of not more than $4,000, or bothnew text end .
(c) Whoever commits either of the following acts against a peace officer is guilty of a
felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than three years or to payment
of a fine of not more than $6,000, or both: (1) physically assaults the officer if the assault
inflicts demonstrable bodily harm; or (2) intentionally throws or otherwise transfers bodily
fluids or feces at or onto the officer.
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This section is effective August 1, 2018, and applies to violations
committed on or after that date.
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As used in this section:
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(1) "immediate family member" means a law enforcement official's spouse, child, or
parent, or any other blood relative who lives in the same residence as the law enforcement
official;
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(2) "law enforcement official" means a peace officer as defined in section 626.84,
subdivision 1, a judge as defined in section 609.221, subdivision 2, paragraph (c), or a
prosecutor as defined in section 609.221, subdivision 2, paragraph (c); and
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(3) "personal information" means a law enforcement official's home address, home
telephone number, personal mobile telephone number, pager number, personal e-mail
address, personal photograph, directions to the law enforcement official's home, or
photographs of the law enforcement official's or the official's immediate family member's
home or vehicle.
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It is a misdemeanor for a person to knowingly make available
on the Internet personal information about a law enforcement official or an official's
immediate family member, if the dissemination of the personal information poses an
imminent and serious threat to the law enforcement official's safety or the safety of a law
enforcement official's immediate family member, and the person making the information
available on the Internet knows or reasonably should know of the imminent and serious
threat.
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This section is effective August 1, 2018, and applies to crimes
committed on or after that date.
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