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VOLUME 7 - CHAPTER 77
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77.4 Assault On Law Enforcement Officer, Custodial Officer Or Firefighter

    77.4.2 Assaults On Law Enforcement Officer, Custodial Officer Or Firefighter: Miscellaneous Issues

    77.4.2.1 Assault With A Deadly Weapon Upon A Police Officer [Reserved]
    77.4.2.2 Assault On Police Officer: Definition Of Deadly Weapon
    77.4.2.3 Assault On Police Officer: Requirement Of Knowledge That Victim Was A Law Enforcement Officer Engaged In Performing Official Duties
    77.4.2.4 Assault On Police Officer With Illegal Weapon [Reserved]

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VOLUME 7 - CHAPTER 77

    77.4.2.1    Assault With A Deadly Weapon Upon A Police Officer [Reserved]

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VOLUME 7 - CHAPTER 77

    77.4.2.2    Assault On Police Officer: Definition Of Deadly Weapon

    See FORECITE National™ 106.4.4.3 [Dangerous Or Deadly Weapon Defined: Defense Theory That Manner Of Use Permits Inference That Weapon Was Not Dangerous Or Deadly.]

    See FORECITE National™ 106.4.4.7 [Deadly Weapon Defined: Defense Theory That Weapon Was Unloaded].

    See FORECITE National™ 106.4.4.11 [Dangerous Or Deadly Weapon Defined: Consideration Of Manner Of Use And Overall Circumstances].

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VOLUME 7 - CHAPTER 77

    77.4.2.3    Assault On Police Officer: Requirement Of Knowledge That Victim Was A Law Enforcement Officer Engaged In Performing Official Duties

RATIONALE: It would be unfair to convict the defendant of assault of a law enforcement officer if the defendant did not know that the person assaulted was a law enforcement officer.

POINTS AND AUTHORITIES: Knowledge that the act committed is the one proscribed by the statute may be an element of a criminal charge. (See FORECITE National™  46.1 [Willfully Defined: Knowledge Element].) Hence, knowledge of the victim's status as a law enforcement officer should be required. (State v. Allen (WA 1992) 840 P2d 905, 908; State v. Galvin (VT 1986) 514 A2d 705, 707 [intoxication defense available to negate knowledge element in charge of assault on a police officer]; Reese v. State (NM 1987) 745 P2d 1146, 1148-49 [mistaken belief that victim was ordinary citizen is defense to assault-on-officer statute which requires knowledge that the victim is a police officer]; but see U.S. v. Berki (11th Cir. 1991) 936 F2d 529, 532 [defendant not required to know that he was threatening a federal judge to be criminally liable for his conduct]; State v. Tunney (WA 1996) 917 P2d 95, 96 [knowledge issue not resolved].)

FEDERALIZATION: To federalize this request, click here. [Constitutional Macro 2.3; 4.1].

RELATED FEDERAL MODEL INSTRUCTIONS:

See generally, FORECITE National™ 77.4.1.2 [Assault On Law Enforcement Officer, Custodial Officer Or Firefighter:  Federal Circuit Model Instructions And Notes].

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 1:

    An essential element of the crime of assault on a law enforcement officer is that the defendant knew, at the time of the assault, that _____________ (name of alleged victim) was a law enforcement officer who was performing his or her official duties.

[See State v. Allen (WA 1992) 840 P2d 905, 908; cf. WASHINGTON PATTERN JURY INSTRUCTIONS - CRIMINAL, WPIC 35.23.02 [Third Degree-Law Enforcement Officer-Elements] (West, 2nd ed. 1994); MICHIGAN CRIMINAL JURY INSTRUCTIONS 13.3 [Interference with a Police Officer Serving Process] p. 13-7 (ICLE, 2nd ed. 1999).]

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 2:

    The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the defendant knew, or had reason to know, that ____________________ (name of alleged victim) was a [law enforcement officer] [fire fighter] acting in an official capacity.

    Any juror who has a reasonable doubt that defendant knew  _______________________ (name of alleged victim) was a [law enforcement officer] [fire fighter] acting in an official capacity you must vote to find the defendant not guilty. 

[See State v. Allen (WA 1992) 840 P2d 905, 908; cf. WISCONSIN JURY INSTRUCTIONS - CRIMINAL, WIS-JI-Criminal 1230 [Battery To A Law Enforcement Officer Or Firefighter] ¶¶ 12 and 18 (University of Wisconsin Law School, 2000).]

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 3:

    If the defendant did not know or have reasonable grounds to know that ________________ (name of officer) was a law enforcement officer, he cannot be convicted of an assault upon a law enforcement officer. Whether the defendant knew or had reasonable grounds to know that (name of officer) was a law enforcement officer is a fact for you to decide from all the facts and circumstances surrounding the encounter between __________________ (name of officer) and the defendant.

    If, after considering all the evidence you have a reasonable doubt that defendant knew  _______________________ (name of officer) was a [law enforcement officer] [fire fighter] acting in an official capacity you must find the defendant not guilty. 

[See State v. Allen (WA 1992) 840 P2d 905, 908; cf. NORTH CAROLINA PATTERN JURY INSTRUCTIONS - CRIMINAL, NCPI-Crim 208.81E [Assault On An Officer--Arrest Situations (Issues As To Officer Status Victim, Fact Of Arrest And Lawfulness Of Arrest-Neither Officer’s Nor Defendant’s Force In Dispute] (TRCC, 1999) [Footnotes omitted].]

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    77.4.2.4    Assault On Police Officer With Illegal Weapon [Reserved]