However, on appeal the court overturned the conviction, concluding that testimony from the victim that the injury hurt "a lot" and photos of slight bruising was not enough to sustain an assault conviction. For assault on a peace officer, police officer, fireman or emergency medical services professional the injury must be serious- presenting a substantial risk of death. If the injury is not as serious as the statute requires, then the prosecutor will have a difficult time convincing a judge or a jury that you should be convicted.
Lawful duty. In order to be convicted of an assault on a firefighter offense, you must have assaulted the firefighter while he or she was attempting to perform his or her lawful duties. Such duties may include not only putting out a fire, but also rescuing people and performing emergency medical treatment. If you do in fact assault a firefighter, but the firefighter was not in the process of performing his or her official duties, you have a valid defense against an assault on a firefighter charge.
However, you may still be found guilty of another assault offense such as assault in the third degree. If you are convicted of assault on a firefighter your sentence will include prison, payment of fines, fees, and restitution, and post-release supervision.
The actual length of your prison sentence will depend not only on the offense of which you are convicted but also on your prior criminal record. Based on your criminal record, you will be labeled as follows:. Assault in the second degree is a class D felony. The maximum possible sentence is 7 years in prison. Because assault in the second degree is also classified as a violent felony, the judge is required to impose a minimum sentence of 2 years in prison.
Your sentence will be determinate, meaning that it will be a set period of years and not a range of years. Even if you have no prior convictions the minimum prison sentence you will receive is 2 years. The court will not have the option of sentencing you to no prison time. If your status is that of a non-violent predicate offender, then the court will sentence you to at least 3 years for an assault in the second degree conviction, while if you are a violent predicate offender, you will be sentenced to at least 5 years in prison.
If you are a persistent felony offender, then the minimum sentence you will receive is years in prison; the maximum sentence is life in prison.
Part of your sentence will also include a term of post-release supervision. The maximum possible sentence is 15 years in prison. If your status is that of a non-violent predicate offender the court will sentence you to at least 5 years for an assault in the second degree conviction, while if you are a violent predicate offender you will be sentenced to at least 7 years in prison. If you are a persistent felony offender the minimum sentence you will receive is years in prison; the maximum sentence is life in prison.
Upon release from prison you will have to serve a term of post-release supervision. Because both assault on a firefighter offenses are violent felonies, if you are convicted of either such offense part of your sentence will also include a term of post-release supervision of 1. According to State v. Roberts, N. North Carolina also recognizes battery as a form of assault. West, N. The most common example of a battery is one person hitting or punching another person.
Mathews, a paramedic for Paramedics Plus, has had the very people he is trying to help pull a gun on him or threaten to kill him. Currently, a simple assault against an ambulance worker is just that, but kicking or punching an emergency responder could soon become a felony - as it is if someone assaults a police officer - if House Bill makes its way through the Legislature. More: Two inmates brought back 'from edge of death' after suspected overdose.
More: Coming to a fire truck near you: nasal spray that stops opioid overdoses. One of Mathews' assailants was actually charged with simple assault. Usually someone who commits a battery is guilty of a misdemeanor in the first degree. The term police or law enforcement officer covers a variety of positions under the criminal justice system. It includes traditional law enforcement officers such as local police or sheriff deputies, state and federal law enforcement, correctional officers in jails or prisons, probation officers, and officers employed by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection.
A firefighter is a person employed by a state or local government to prevent and control fires as well as protect life or property.
If a firefighter or law enforcement officer alleges assault or battery , the punishment for the crime automatically increases. In the case of assault, when a law enforcement officer is involved, the punishment increases from a second-degree misdemeanor to a first-degree misdemeanor.
Jail time increases from a maximum of 60 days to a maximum of 1 year. In the case of battery, the punishment increases from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony. Jail time increases from a maximum of 1 year to a maximum of 5 years. The sentencing enhancements that apply to firefighters and law enforcement officers do not automatically come into effect just because a victim is employed as a firefighter or police officer.
For increased punishment to apply, the firefighter or police officer must be engaged in the lawful performance of his or her duties at the time of the alleged assault or battery.
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