General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7215
January Session, 2017 LCO No. 4478
*04478_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 7215
January Session, 2017
LCO No. 4478
*04478_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING COURTHOUSE SECURITY, INDEMNIFICATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALS AND AGGRAVATED ASSAULT OF A PUBLIC TRANSIT EMPLOYEE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Not later than July 1, 2017, the Judicial Department shall commence training and certification of judicial marshals to carry firearms in courthouses. The department shall determine which judicial marshals to train and certify, which firearms may be carried and in which courthouses such judicial marshals may carry such firearms.
Sec. 2. Section 53-39a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
Whenever, in any prosecution of [an officer of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, or a member of the Office of State Capitol Police or] any member of a law enforcement unit, as defined in section 7-294a, any person appointed under section 29-18 as a special policeman for the State Capitol building and grounds, the Legislative Office Building and parking garage and related structures and facilities, and other areas under the supervision and control of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management, or [a local police department] any inspector in the Division of Criminal Justice for a crime allegedly committed by such [officer] member, person or inspector in the course of [his] duty, [as such,] the charge is dismissed or the [officer] member, person or inspector found not guilty, such [officer] member, person or inspector shall be indemnified by [his] such member's, person's or inspector's employing governmental unit for economic loss sustained by [him] such member, person or inspector as a result of such prosecution, including the payment of attorney's fees and costs incurred during the prosecution and the enforcement of this section. Such [officer] member, person or inspector may bring an action in the Superior Court against such employing governmental unit to enforce the provisions of this section.
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2017) (a) A person is guilty of aggravated assault of a public transit employee when such person commits assault of a public transit employee as provided in section 53a-167c of the general statutes and in the commission of such offense such person uses, or is armed with and threatens the use of or displays or represents by such person's words or conduct that such person possesses a knife or box-cutter, or a pistol, revolver, shotgun, rifle, machine gun or other firearm.
(b) Aggravated assault of a public transit employee is a class B felony.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2017 53-39a
Sec. 3 October 1, 2017 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
New section
Sec. 2
October 1, 2017
53-39a
Sec. 3
October 1, 2017
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require firearms training and certification for selected judicial marshals to carry such firearms in selected courthouses, to ensure that all law enforcement professionals who work for the state or a municipality are covered by the indemnification statute and to create a new crime of aggravated assault of a public transit employee.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]