Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, Firefighter, Etc. - Florida Statute 784.07(2)(a)

Are you being charged, in Palm Beach County, Florida with Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer? We are Assault on Law Enforcement Officer attorneys located in West Palm Beach. When you are arrested for Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer you want a lawyer that understands and practices in this area of law. Don’t hire a lawyer that dabbles in criminal defense, hire a criminal defense attorney that has extensive experience in Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer cases. Your attorney needs to have knowledge and experience but also needs to know the players. Knowing the players comes from years of being inside the courtroom. Finding the best criminal defense attorney in Palm Beach County, for your case, is difficult. You need to review their educational background, experience in criminal cases, their reputation in the community, and their ability to communicate with you, the client. The quality of the criminal defense attorney you hire to defend your Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer case is extremely important. We ask that you consider our South Florida Criminal Defense Attorneys.

Have you been arrested for Assault On Law Enforcement Officer in Royal Palm Beach? We can help! Did the police falsely arrest you for Assault on LEO, Firefighter, etc in Palm Beach county, Florida? We are willing to fight the allegations and work to prove your innocence! Did the police get physical with you or verbally aggressive and then charge you with Assault on law Enforcement or Firefighter in Haverhill? We are available and willing to fight it out in a courtroom.

How many times have you watched the news and heard about someone getting charged with assault and battery? Assault is where a person intentionally and illegally made a believable threat to physically harm the victim and the threat put the victim in reasonable fear that they would be harmed. The threat can be verbal (I’m going to punch you) or physical (imagine a person “cocking back” his fist and arm to be ready to punch).

There are different types of assaults. A “simple” assault is classified as a second-degree misdemeanor. The more serious type of assault, aggravated assault, can happen when an individual assaults someone that is in a certain classified group of individuals (police, security guards, EMTs). Aggravated assault is a first-degree misdemeanor. Many individuals are unaware that though security guards are not police officers, they are licensed by the State of Florida and fall into this more highly protected class. Florida Statute 784.07 prohibits anyone from assaulting individuals in this protected class.

In order for the state to convict you of this more serious form of assault, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

1. You intentionally and unlawfully threatened, by body language or verbally, to hurt the victim;
2. When you threatened the victim, it looked like you could hurt the victim;
3. Your threat created a reasonable fear of injury in the victim’s mind;
4. The victim was at least one of the following:
   1. A law enforcement officer;
   2. A firefighter;
   3. An emergency medical care provider;
   4. A traffic accident investigation officer;
   5. A traffic infraction enforcement officer;
   6. A parking enforcement specialist;
   7. A security officer employed at a college;
   8. A federal law enforcement officer; or
   9. Anyone else listed in Florida State 784.07(1)-(2);
5. You knew the person was one of the above; and
6. When you assaulted the victim, he was doing his job.

The facts of the case are going to determine how to approach presenting potential defenses. One defense is that the defendant might have been thinking he was getting attacked by the “victim” and was trying to defend himself from the attacks of the “victim.”

The individual who claimed he was assaulted must be in some type of uniform that is bearing at least one type of patch or emblem that is visible and identifies the alleged victim as being part of one of the above classifications; otherwise, the defendant can only be charged with a simple assault, which is a second-degree misdemeanor.

The crime is considered a first-degree misdemeanor that is punishable by a maximum of 365 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

If you are facing a charge of assault on a law enforcement officer or a similarly protected individual, a Delray Beach Misdemeanor Battery Attorney at Contact The Law Office of Roger P. Foley, P.A. to help you understand your options and the best defense available for your case.