Weston Assault on an Officer Lawyer

Assault on an officer is any kind of physical injury to either a police officer or a peace officer, which includes EMTs and firefighters. One of the most common ways this occurs is when an officer is trying to break up a fight, and one of the individuals involved ends up hitting or pushing the officer. Another scenario where this occurs is when someone is intoxicated and needs to be taken by an EMT personnel in an ambulance to the hospital, and the person becomes physically aggressive toward the EMT personnel, striking one of them.

Assault on an officer is a Class C felony, even without a serious physical injury and without a weapon, and the penalty is up to 10 years in jail, a fine of up to $10,000, and a period of probation if they are convicted or plead guilty. Because of the serious potential penalties for this type of assault, it is important to work with an experienced Weston assault on an officer lawyer as soon as possible to mitigate the damage as much as possible. An experienced assault attorney can also help prepare an individual for what to expect and ensure that their rights are not violated during the course of the case.

Unique Aspects of APO Charges

The difference of assault an officer and assaulting any other lay person is the class of individual assaulted. That is what increases it from a Class A misdemeanor all the way up to a C Felony. This changes the way these cases are prosecuted and subsequently defended in Weston courts. The prosecutors take the charge more seriously, and no judge wants no condone someone assaulting a police officer. They tend to prosecute these cases aggressively.

There is probably a tendency on the part of prosecutors to be a bit more aggressive to the prosecutor, due to their position. While they try to remain fair, there is probably the tendency to treat them a bit differently or pay closer attention because now the alleged victim is a police officer. For this reason, anyone accused needs to have an experienced assault on an officer attorney in Weston to assist in representing them and building a defense.

Elements of Assault on an Officer

Prosecutors need to be able to prove that the person knew they were a peace officer. For example, if they are in street clothes but announce they a police officer, that is usually enough for the person to be on alert that they are a police officer. If the defendant does not know they were a police officer, that can be helpful to the defense.

Weston prosecutors need to prove that the person intended to assault the police or the peace officer and show the police officer suffered some form of physical injury. The injury can be something minor like a bruise. The most common way they prove this is to get a statement from the officer involved or to introduce medical records to show there was an injury.

If someone actually has committed an assault on a police officer and the police officer was utilizing body cameras, the video is going to be really strong evidence in favor of the state and against that person, and it might help persuade the person being charged to work out a negotiation with the state. But in the alternative, it might show the officer being unfriendly with a person or physically grabbing someone who is maybe not involved or has not done anything wrong. There could be an opportunity for mitigating evidence to come out in the defendant’s favor as well.

Building a Defense

Even if a person is still charged, mitigating evidence will make it a lot easier for their Weston assault on an officer attorney to work out a disposition that avoids jail time or drops the charge down to a misdemeanor. There are ways to use that as leverage for the defense case. Common defenses include self-defense and not knowing the person was a police officer. A skilled assault on an officer attorney in Weston is a person’s best asset when building a defense for these types of charges.