Virginia Senate Democrats have released a list of 28 proposals for police and criminal justice reform in the Commonwealth, including one measure which would downgrade assault of a law enforcement officer from a felony to a misdemeanor, according to the Fort Hunt Herald.
The current law states that anyone convicted of assaulting a police officer is guilty of a Class 6 felony and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of six months. This same penalty applies to anyone assaults a person they know to be a judge, magistrate, prison guard, firefighter or some other first responder.
The proposal to "defelonize" assault of a police officer is one of many proposals brought forth by the Senate Democratic Caucus that will be discussed at a special session on criminal justice reform legislation scheduled to take place in August 2020.
Other proposals include:
- Prohibit No Knock Warrants (Breonna Taylor)
- Prohibit Hiring of Officers Fired or Resigned During Use of Force Investigations
- Create a Decertification Procedure for Law Enforcement Officers
- Ban chokeholds and strangleholds (George Floyd)
- Require Attempts at De-escalation Prior to Use of Force
- Require Warnings Before Shots Fired
- Require Law Enforcement to Exhaust All Other Means Prior to Shooting
- Create Duty to Intervene by Fellow Law Enforcement Officers
- Prohibit Shooting at Moving Motor Vehicles
- Require Departments to Create a Use of Force Continuum
