Criminal Offenses Against Law Enforcement Officers and Other Personnel

This bill is about what happens in Florida when someone breaks the law by hurting a police officer.

• If passed, this bill will change part of the laws in Florida in order to: 

  • Update the rules about using or threatening to be physically violent to police officers when getting arrested 

  • Define "acting in good faith" as really trying to follow the law, even if it is decided later that what the police officer did actually broke the law.

  • Add harsher punishments for killing someone when it’s against certain police officers  

  • Change when the law applies   

  • Update the definition of "law enforcement officer" to include:

    • A full or part time police officer

    • A full or part time police officer that works in a jail or prison

    • A police officer who works with people on probation.

      • Probation: an option other than jail or prison, where a person stays in the community while being checked on by a police officer to make sure they’re following the rules.

    • an auxiliary correctional officer: a person who helps police officers who work in jails or prisons some or all of the time, with and without getting paid.

  • Make rules about hurting specific police officers more clear   

  • Update the part of Florida law about resisting, getting in the way of, or fighting certain officers or high-up professionals  

  • Raise the ranking of how bad it is to hurt police officers in Florida, which means the punishment will be worse.