Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1092 By Senator Martin 33-01423-24 20241092__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to criminal offenses against law 3 enforcement officers and other personnel; providing a 4 short title; amending s. 776.051, F.S.; revising a 5 prohibition on the use or threatened use of force to 6 resist arrest or detention; amending s. 782.065, F.S.; 7 providing for enhanced punishment for additional 8 offenses when committed against specified officers; 9 revising applicability; amending s. 784.07, F.S.; 10 revising the definition of the term law enforcement 11 officer; revising provisions concerning assault or 12 battery upon specified officers and other personnel; 13 amending s. 843.01, F.S.; revising a provision 14 concerning resisting, obstructing, or opposing 15 specified officers; providing an effective date. 16 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18 19 Section 1.This act may be cited as the Officer Jason 20 Raynor Act. 21 Section 2.Section 776.051, Florida Statutes, is amended to 22 read: 23 776.051Use or threatened use of force in resisting arrest 24 or detention making an arrest or in the execution of a legal 25 duty; prohibition. 26 (1)A person is not justified in the use or threatened use 27 of force to resist a lawful or an unlawful an arrest or 28 detention by a law enforcement officer, or to resist a law 29 enforcement officer who is acting in the performance of his or 30 her official duties as described in s. 943.10(1), if who is 31 engaged in the execution of a legal duty, if the law enforcement 32 officer was acting in good faith and he or she is known, or 33 reasonably appears, to be a law enforcement officer. 34 (2)A law enforcement officer, or any person whom the 35 officer has summoned or directed to assist him or her, is not 36 justified in the use of force if the arrest or execution of a 37 legal duty is unlawful and known by him or her to be unlawful. 38 Section 3.Section 782.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to 39 read: 40 782.065Murder; law enforcement officer, correctional 41 officer, correctional probation officer.Notwithstanding ss. 42 775.082, 775.0823, 782.04, 782.051, and chapter 921, a defendant 43 shall be sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for 44 release upon findings by the trier of fact that, beyond a 45 reasonable doubt: 46 (1)The defendant committed murder in the first degree in 47 violation of s. 782.04(1) and a death sentence was not imposed; 48 murder in the second or third degree in violation of s. 49 782.04(2), (3), or (4); attempted murder in the first or second 50 degree in violation of s. 782.04(1)(a)1. or (2); or attempted 51 felony murder in violation of s. 782.051; manslaughter in 52 violation of s. 782.07(1); or a felony resulting in the death of 53 a law enforcement officer as defined in s. 943.10(1); and 54 (2)The victim of any offense described in subsection (1) 55 was a law enforcement officer, part-time law enforcement 56 officer, auxiliary law enforcement officer, correctional 57 officer, part-time correctional officer, auxiliary correctional 58 officer, correctional probation officer, part-time correctional 59 probation officer, or auxiliary correctional probation officer, 60 as those terms are defined in s. 943.10, who was acting in the 61 performance of his or her official duties as described in s. 62 943.10 engaged in the lawful performance of a legal duty. 63 Section 4.Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) and subsection 64 (2) of section 784.07, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 65 784.07Assault or battery of law enforcement officers and 66 other specified personnel; reclassification of offenses; minimum 67 sentences. 68 (1)As used in this section, the term: 69 (e)Law enforcement officer includes a law enforcement 70 officer, a correctional officer, a correctional probation 71 officer, a part-time law enforcement officer, a part-time 72 correctional officer, an auxiliary law enforcement officer, and 73 an auxiliary correctional officer, as those terms are 74 respectively defined in s. 943.10, and any county probation 75 officer; an employee or agent of the Department of Corrections 76 who supervises or provides services to inmates; an officer of 77 the Florida Commission on Offender Review; a federal law 78 enforcement officer as defined in s. 901.1505; and law 79 enforcement personnel of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation 80 Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, or the 81 Department of Law Enforcement. The duties and responsibilities 82 of these respective positions are described in s. 943.10. 83 (2)Whenever any person is charged with knowingly 84 committing an assault or battery upon a law enforcement officer, 85 a firefighter, an emergency medical care provider, hospital 86 personnel, a railroad special officer, a traffic accident 87 investigation officer as described in s. 316.640, a nonsworn law 88 enforcement agency employee who is certified as an agency 89 inspector, a blood alcohol analyst, or a breath test operator 90 while such employee is in uniform and engaged in processing, 91 testing, evaluating, analyzing, or transporting a person who is 92 detained or under arrest for DUI, a law enforcement explorer, a 93 traffic infraction enforcement officer as described in s. 94 316.640, a parking enforcement specialist as defined in s. 95 316.640, a person licensed as a security officer as defined in 96 s. 493.6101 and wearing a uniform that bears at least one patch 97 or emblem that is visible at all times that clearly identifies 98 the employing agency and that clearly identifies the person as a 99 licensed security officer, or a security officer employed by the 100 board of trustees of a community college, while the officer, 101 firefighter, emergency medical care provider, hospital 102 personnel, railroad special officer, traffic accident 103 investigation officer, traffic infraction enforcement officer, 104 inspector, analyst, operator, law enforcement explorer, parking 105 enforcement specialist, public transit employee or agent, or 106 security officer who is acting in the performance of his or her 107 official duties is engaged in the lawful performance of his or 108 her duties, the offense for which the person is charged shall be 109 reclassified as follows: 110 (a)In the case of assault, from a misdemeanor of the 111 second degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree. 112 (b)In the case of battery, from a misdemeanor of the first 113 degree to a felony of the third degree. Notwithstanding any 114 other provision of law, a person convicted of battery upon a law 115 enforcement officer committed in furtherance of a riot or an 116 aggravated riot prohibited under s. 870.01 shall be sentenced to 117 a minimum term of imprisonment of 6 months. 118 (c)In the case of aggravated assault, from a felony of the 119 third degree to a felony of the second degree. Notwithstanding 120 any other provision of law, any person convicted of aggravated 121 assault upon a law enforcement officer shall be sentenced to a 122 minimum term of imprisonment of 3 years. 123 (d)In the case of aggravated battery, from a felony of the 124 second degree to a felony of the first degree. Notwithstanding 125 any other provision of law, any person convicted of aggravated 126 battery of a law enforcement officer shall be sentenced to a 127 minimum term of imprisonment of 5 years. 128 Section 5.Subsection (1) of section 843.01, Florida 129 Statutes, is amended to read: 130 843.01Resisting, obstructing, or opposing by offering or 131 doing violence to legally authorized person, police canine, or 132 police horse. 133 (1)Whoever knowingly and willfully resists, obstructs, or 134 opposes any officer as defined in s. 943.10(1), (2), (3), (6), 135 (7), (8), or (9); member of the Florida Commission on Offender 136 Review or any administrative aide or supervisor employed by the 137 commission; parole and probation supervisor; county probation 138 officer; personnel or representative of the Department of Law 139 Enforcement; or other person legally authorized to execute 140 process in the execution of legal process or acting in the 141 performance of his or her official duties as described in s. 142 943.10 in the lawful execution of any legal duty, by offering or 143 doing violence to the person of such officer or legally 144 authorized person, commits a felony of the third degree, 145 punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 146 Section 6.This act shall take effect October 1, 2024.