1     
PENALTY FOR TARGETING LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

2     
2017 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Paul Ray

5     
Senate Sponsor: Curtis S. Bramble

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill creates a specific penalty for targeting a law enforcement officer.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     defines "targeting a law enforcement officer";
13          ▸     adds targeting a law enforcement officer to the aggravating factors for aggravated
14     murder; and
15          ▸     makes aggravated assault a first degree felony if a law enforcement officer is
16     targeted.
17     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
18          None
19     Other Special Clauses:
20          None
21     Utah Code Sections Affected:
22     AMENDS:
23          76-5-103, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 430
24          76-5-202, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 81
25     ENACTS:
26          76-5-210, Utah Code Annotated 1953
27     

28     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
29          Section 1. Section 76-5-103 is amended to read:

30          76-5-103. Aggravated assault -- Penalties.
31          (1) Aggravated assault is an actor's conduct:
32          (a) that is:
33          (i) an attempt, with unlawful force or violence, to do bodily injury to another;
34          (ii) a threat, accompanied by a show of immediate force or violence, to do bodily injury
35     to another; or
36          (iii) an act, committed with unlawful force or violence, that causes bodily injury to
37     another or creates a substantial risk of bodily injury to another; and
38          (b) that includes the use of:
39          (i) a dangerous weapon as defined in Section 76-1-601; or
40          (ii) other means or force likely to produce death or serious bodily injury.
41          (2) (a) A violation of Subsection (1) is a third degree felony, except under Subsection
42     (2)(b).
43          (b) A violation of Subsection (1) that results in serious bodily injury is a second degree
44     felony.
45          (c) Aggravated assault that is a violation of Section 76-5-210, Targeting a law
46     enforcement officer, and results in serious bodily injury is a first degree felony.
47          Section 2. Section 76-5-202 is amended to read:
48          76-5-202. Aggravated murder.
49          (1) Criminal homicide constitutes aggravated murder if the actor intentionally or
50     knowingly causes the death of another under any of the following circumstances:
51          (a) the homicide was committed by a person who is confined in a jail or other
52     correctional institution;
53          (b) the homicide was committed incident to one act, scheme, course of conduct, or
54     criminal episode during which two or more persons were killed, or during which the actor
55     attempted to kill one or more persons in addition to the victim who was killed;
56          (c) the actor knowingly created a great risk of death to a person other than the victim
57     and the actor;

58          (d) the homicide was committed incident to an act, scheme, course of conduct, or
59     criminal episode during which the actor committed or attempted to commit aggravated robbery,
60     robbery, rape, rape of a child, object rape, object rape of a child, forcible sodomy, sodomy upon
61     a child, forcible sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a child, aggravated sexual abuse of a child, child
62     abuse as defined in Subsection 76-5-109(2)(a), or aggravated sexual assault, aggravated arson,
63     arson, aggravated burglary, burglary, aggravated kidnapping, or kidnapping, or child
64     kidnapping;
65          (e) the homicide was committed incident to one act, scheme, course of conduct, or
66     criminal episode during which the actor committed the crime of abuse or desecration of a dead
67     human body as defined in Subsection 76-9-704(2)(e);
68          (f) the homicide was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing an arrest of
69     the defendant or another by a peace officer acting under color of legal authority or for the
70     purpose of effecting the defendant's or another's escape from lawful custody;
71          (g) the homicide was committed for pecuniary gain;
72          (h) the defendant committed, or engaged or employed another person to commit the
73     homicide pursuant to an agreement or contract for remuneration or the promise of remuneration
74     for commission of the homicide;
75          (i) the actor previously committed or was convicted of:
76          (i) aggravated murder under this section;
77          (ii) attempted aggravated murder under this section;
78          (iii) murder, Section 76-5-203;
79          (iv) attempted murder, Section 76-5-203; or
80          (v) an offense committed in another jurisdiction which if committed in this state would
81     be a violation of a crime listed in this Subsection (1)(i);
82          (j) the actor was previously convicted of:
83          (i) aggravated assault, Subsection 76-5-103(2);
84          (ii) mayhem, Section 76-5-105;
85          (iii) kidnapping, Section 76-5-301;

86          (iv) child kidnapping, Section 76-5-301.1;
87          (v) aggravated kidnapping, Section 76-5-302;
88          (vi) rape, Section 76-5-402;
89          (vii) rape of a child, Section 76-5-402.1;
90          (viii) object rape, Section 76-5-402.2;
91          (ix) object rape of a child, Section 76-5-402.3;
92          (x) forcible sodomy, Section 76-5-403;
93          (xi) sodomy on a child, Section 76-5-403.1;
94          (xii) aggravated sexual abuse of a child, Section 76-5-404.1;
95          (xiii) aggravated sexual assault, Section 76-5-405;
96          (xiv) aggravated arson, Section 76-6-103;
97          (xv) aggravated burglary, Section 76-6-203;
98          (xvi) aggravated robbery, Section 76-6-302;
99          (xvii) felony discharge of a firearm, Section 76-10-508.1; or
100          (xviii) an offense committed in another jurisdiction which if committed in this state
101     would be a violation of a crime listed in this Subsection (1)(j);
102          (k) the homicide was committed for the purpose of:
103          (i) preventing a witness from testifying;
104          (ii) preventing a person from providing evidence or participating in any legal
105     proceedings or official investigation;
106          (iii) retaliating against a person for testifying, providing evidence, or participating in
107     any legal proceedings or official investigation; or
108          (iv) disrupting or hindering any lawful governmental function or enforcement of laws;
109          (l) the victim is or has been a local, state, or federal public official, or a candidate for
110     public office, and the homicide is based on, is caused by, or is related to that official position,
111     act, capacity, or candidacy;
112          (m) the victim is or has been a peace officer, law enforcement officer, executive
113     officer, prosecuting officer, jailer, prison official, firefighter, judge or other court official, juror,

114     probation officer, or parole officer, and the victim is either on duty or the homicide is based on,
115     is caused by, or is related to that official position, and the actor knew, or reasonably should
116     have known, that the victim holds or has held that official position;
117          (n) the homicide was committed:
118          (i) by means of a destructive device, bomb, explosive, incendiary device, or similar
119     device which was planted, hidden, or concealed in any place, area, dwelling, building, or
120     structure, or was mailed or delivered; [or]
121          (ii) by means of any weapon of mass destruction as defined in Section 76-10-401; or
122          (iii) to target a law enforcement officer as defined in Section 76-5-210;
123          (o) the homicide was committed during the act of unlawfully assuming control of any
124     aircraft, train, or other public conveyance by use of threats or force with intent to obtain any
125     valuable consideration for the release of the public conveyance or any passenger, crew
126     member, or any other person aboard, or to direct the route or movement of the public
127     conveyance or otherwise exert control over the public conveyance;
128          (p) the homicide was committed by means of the administration of a poison or of any
129     lethal substance or of any substance administered in a lethal amount, dosage, or quantity;
130          (q) the victim was a person held or otherwise detained as a shield, hostage, or for
131     ransom;
132          (r) the homicide was committed in an especially heinous, atrocious, cruel, or
133     exceptionally depraved manner, any of which must be demonstrated by physical torture, serious
134     physical abuse, or serious bodily injury of the victim before death;
135          (s) the actor dismembers, mutilates, or disfigures the victim's body, whether before or
136     after death, in a manner demonstrating the actor's depravity of mind; or
137          (t) the victim, at the time of the death of the victim:
138          (i) was younger than 14 years of age; and
139          (ii) was not an unborn child.
140          (2) Criminal homicide constitutes aggravated murder if the actor, with reckless
141     indifference to human life, causes the death of another incident to an act, scheme, course of

142     conduct, or criminal episode during which the actor is a major participant in the commission or
143     attempted commission of:
144          (a) child abuse, Subsection 76-5-109(2)(a);
145          (b) child kidnapping, Section 76-5-301.1;
146          (c) rape of a child, Section 76-5-402.1;
147          (d) object rape of a child, Section 76-5-402.3;
148          (e) sodomy on a child, Section 76-5-403.1; or
149          (f) sexual abuse or aggravated sexual abuse of a child, Section 76-5-404.1.
150          (3) (a) If a notice of intent to seek the death penalty has been filed, aggravated murder
151     is a capital felony.
152          (b) If a notice of intent to seek the death penalty has not been filed, aggravated murder
153     is a noncapital first degree felony punishable as provided in Section 76-3-207.7.
154          (c) (i) Within 60 days after arraignment of the defendant, the prosecutor may file notice
155     of intent to seek the death penalty. The notice shall be served on the defendant or defense
156     counsel and filed with the court.
157          (ii) Notice of intent to seek the death penalty may be served and filed more than 60
158     days after the arraignment upon written stipulation of the parties or upon a finding by the court
159     of good cause.
160          (d) Without the consent of the prosecutor, the court may not accept a plea of guilty to
161     noncapital first degree felony aggravated murder during the period in which the prosecutor may
162     file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty under Subsection (3)(c)(i).
163          (e) If the defendant was younger than 18 years of age at the time the offense was
164     committed, aggravated murder is a noncapital first degree felony punishable as provided in
165     Section 76-3-207.7.
166          (4) (a) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of aggravated murder or attempted
167     aggravated murder that the defendant caused the death of another or attempted to cause the
168     death of another under a reasonable belief that the circumstances provided a legal justification
169     or excuse for the conduct although the conduct was not legally justifiable or excusable under

170     the existing circumstances.
171          (b) The reasonable belief of the actor under Subsection (4)(a) shall be determined from
172     the viewpoint of a reasonable person under the then existing circumstances.
173          (c) This affirmative defense reduces charges only as follows:
174          (i) aggravated murder to murder; and
175          (ii) attempted aggravated murder to attempted murder.
176          (5) (a) Any aggravating circumstance described in Subsection (1) or (2) that constitutes
177     a separate offense does not merge with the crime of aggravated murder.
178          (b) A person who is convicted of aggravated murder, based on an aggravating
179     circumstance described in Subsection (1) or (2) that constitutes a separate offense, may also be
180     convicted of, and punished for, the separate offense.
181          Section 3. Section 76-5-210 is enacted to read:
182          76-5-210. Targeting a law enforcement officer defined.
183          "Targeting a law enforcement officer" means the commission of any offense involving
184     the unlawful use of force and violence against a law enforcement officer, causing serious
185     bodily injury or death in furtherance of political or social objectives in order to intimidate or
186     coerce a civilian population or to influence or affect the conduct of a government or a unit of
187     government.