Virginia to consider reducing
penalty for assaulting police
By DENISE LAVOIE Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia
lawmakers plan to take up dozens of criminal justice reforms during a special
legislative session this week, but one proposal in particular is expected to
spark an intense battle: a push to change a law that allows police to charge
people with felony assault even if the arresting officers are not seriously
hurt.
A bill by Senate Democrats would
downgrade the charge of assault and battery on a law enforcement officer from a
felony to a misdemeanor.
The proposal is one of an array
of reforms drafted in Virginia since the May 25 killing of George Floyd by
Minneapolis police prompted a nationwide protest movement. Lawmakers will also
consider bills to ban the use of police chokeholds and no-knock warrants,
enhance the ability of courts to expunge criminal records, and eliminate jury
sentencing except when requested by defendants.
Sen. Scott Surovell, the chief
sponsor of the assault and battery bill, said it would eliminate the current
mandatory minimum sentence of six months in jail and change the law so the
charge can only be brought as a felony if an officer has a visible physical
injury. Surovell said he is also considering adding provisions requiring that
another officer — not the arresting officer — investigate the circumstances and
that a prosecutor approve the charge.
Critics of the current law say
police overuse the charge, particularly in cases where they fear the person
they arrested will claim police brutality.
“It is a charge that tends to
arise whenever officers get into a tussle with someone,” Surovell said.
Virginia’s legislature made the charge a felony in 1997, at a time when states
around the country and Congress were passing “tough on crime” laws. The
enhanced penalty for assaulting law enforcement officers also applies to
judges, magistrates, corrections officers, firefighters and emergency medical
services personnel.
Marie Dantio, of Alexandria, was
arrested in 2013 when she went to a church in the middle of the night to try to
see a priest. Dantio, who has mental health issues and was homeless at the
time, said she did not immediately respond to Fairfax County police officers
who responded to a trespassing call.
Dantio said the officers pushed
her to the ground. One officer alleged Dantio injured her hand. Dantio said she
spent two months in jail and eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault
in exchange for dropping the felony assault charge. She said she lost her job
as a nurse’s aide because of her arrest.
“I feel very sad,” Dantio said.
“I know I didn’t do it.”
Lt. Erica Webb, a spokeswoman for
Fairfax County police, declined to comment on Dantio’s claims or the extent of
the officer’s injury.
“While taking Ms. Dantio into
custody, she assaulted an officer, causing an injury,” Webb wrote in an email.
States around the country have a
patchwork of laws covering assaults on law enforcement officers. Some states
allow the charge to be brought as both a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on
the circumstances, while other states don’t have a separate law, but allow for
enhanced penalties for assaults on police, according to the National Conference
of State Legislatures.
The proposal to downgrade the
charge in Virginia is expected to face fierce opposition from police and
Republican lawmakers.
Dana Schrad, executive director
of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, said the nationwide protests
since Floyd’s killing have shown “unprecedented levels″ of anger toward police.
“We should be doing more to
protect officers instead of sending a message that assaulting them is not a
serious offense,” Schrad said.
Republican Minority Leader Sen.
Tommy Norment said he finds it “unfathomable” that Democrats are calling for
reduced penalties, given the repeated violent clashes between police and
demonstrators during recent protests in Richmond.
“Very candidly, for those who are
advocating it — particularly in the current lawless atmosphere — I wonder what
they have been smoking,” he said.
Norment is sponsoring a bill that
would increase the mandatory minimum sentence of six months to a year in jail.
For assaults on police during a state of emergency, the mandatory minimum would
jump to two years.
Stephen Hill was charged by
Alexandria police last year as he sat outside a grocery store drinking wine.
Hill, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, said he was intoxicated at the
time and struggling with substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Hill said he was moving slowly,
intending to follow a police command to leave, when an officer grabbed his arm.
He had a broken collarbone, but was not wearing his sling. He said he winced in
pain and struggled as the officers handcuffed him behind his back.
Hill said he briefly grabbed onto
the officer’s duty belt to stabilize himself. The officer then smashed his face
against the side of the patrol car, breaking his nose, he said.
“I had no intention whatsoever to
do anything bad,” Hill said
A spokesman for the Alexandria
Police Department declined to immediately comment on Hill’s account.
Hill said he agreed to plead
guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct because he faced a minimum of
six months in jail on the felony assault charge.
“Once the offer was presented, I
had no business risking the rest of my life with a felony on my record,” he
said.
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