Assault on an officer or first responder in Tennessee

If you assault an officer or first responder in Tennessee then you can face serious consequences such as large fines and a jail sentence. T.C.A. 39-13-116 is the applicable statute pertaining to this offense and sets out the language prescribing the mandatory fine of $5,000.00 and minimum 30 day jail sentence. It is important to recognize that these are the minimums and a court has discretion to apply a larger sentence.

1. A person commits assault against a first responder, who is discharging or attempting to discharge the first responder’s official duties, who:
   1. Knowingly causes bodily injury to a first responder; or
   2. Knowingly causes physical contact with a first responder and a reasonable person would regard the contact as extremely offensive or provocative, including, but not limited to, spitting, throwing, or otherwise transferring bodily fluids, bodily pathogens, or human waste onto the person of a first responder.
2. A person commits aggravated assault against a first responder, who is discharging or attempting to discharge the first responder’s official duties, who knowingly commits an assault under subsection (a), and the assault:
   1. Results in serious bodily injury to the first responder;
   2. Results in the death of the first responder;
   3. Involved the use or display of a deadly weapon; or
   4. Involved strangulation or attempted strangulation.

Violation of section A is a class A misdemeanor and the slightest offensive conduct that results in “bodily harm” can trigger this statute. Stomping on a foot or grazing the skin of an officer can be deemed as “bodily harm.” However, offensive contact that does not result in bodily harm can result in an arrest and paragraph 2 above lists examples. Offensive conduct can be a broad array of disrespectful behavior and/or contact.

Violation of section B is a C felony and the four enumerated subsections specifically detail the level of conduct. Number 1 “serious bodily injury” is the only broad term of the four and it can be open to interpretation. What exactly constitutes “serious bodily injury” can be the difference between a misdemeanor or a feloy and associated consequences. This violation is a minimum $15,000.00 fine and 90 day jail sentence. It is imperative to hire an experience and qualified criminal defense attorney on a charge that may fall in the gray area between the two. Police will often over charge the felony when the facts should be a misdemeanor.