In Nevada, battery on a protected person is knowingly using unlawful physical force on police, firefighters, correction officers, judicial officers, or certain state or civilian employees.
This crime carries harsher penalties than simple battery if you know – or should know – the victim is a protected person and is on duty at the time of the attack. As the following table shows, the punishments turn on whether the officer sustained substantial bodily harm.
| Nevada Sentence for Battery on a Protected Person | |
| Officer did not sustain serious injuries or strangulation | Gross misdemeanor: Up to $2,000 and/or up to 364 days in jail |
| Officer did sustain serious injuries or strangulation OR a deadly weapon was involved | Category B felony: Up to $10,000 and/or 2 to 10 years in Nevada State Prison |
| Officer did sustain serious injuries or strangulation AND a deadly weapon was involved | Category B felony: Up to $10,000 and/or 2 to 15 years in Nevada State Prison |
Examples
Battery on an officer includes such scenarios in Nevada as:
- kicking a Nevada Highway Patrol officer
- throwing an object at a volunteer fireman
- spitting on a jailer
- punching a bailiff
In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys address the following topics re. battery on a peace officer.
1. Elements
For you to be convicted of “battery on an officer” in Nevada, prosecutors must prove the following three elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
- You committed battery on the victim;
- The victim was a peace officer; and
- The peace officer was on active duty, and you knew (or should have known) this.
Each of these elements is discussed below.1
“Battery”
Battery is the willful and unlawful use of force or violence on another person. Common examples include:
- punching,
- pushing,
- burning,
- kicking,
- slapping,
- stabbing,
- throwing an object at,
- poisoning,
- biting, or
- pulling an object out of the victim’s hand.
Note that physical touching constitutes battery only if you did it intentionally.
“Peace Officer”
Peace officers comprise anyone holding the following occupations:
- police officers (also called peace officers)
- firefighters (including volunteers)
- correction officers, including jailers, guards, and matrons
- judicial officers, such as judges, hearing masters, commissioners, and referees
- any state employee whose job includes making home visits
- certain civilian employees and volunteers of law enforcement agencies, firefighting agencies, Nevada, and political subdivisions of Nevada
“Duty” and “Knowledge”
The final element of the Nevada crime of battery on a peace officer is, in turn, two-fold:
- The battery occurred while the officer was in the course of performing their duties, and
- You knew or should have known that the alleged victim was an officer
Therefore, your state of mind is critical to determining whether “battery on a peace officer” may have occurred.
Example: John is storming down the Strip angry over losing his job. An active-duty plain-clothes officer yells at him to slow down since the street is crowded with pedestrians. This sets off John, who punches the officer in the nose.
The officer then arrests him for battery on a peace officer. Though since John had no idea the officer was an officer — let alone on active duty — he may be convicted of battery but should not be convicted of battery on a peace officer. Had the officer been wearing a uniform, then John would have had reasonable notice that he was dealing with police.
Hitting a peace officer carries harsher penalties than hitting a civilian.
2. Defenses
Here at Las Vegas Defense Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with battery, including against peace officers. In our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with judges, juries, and prosecutors at getting these charges reduced or dismissed.
No Battery Occurred
It is not battery on a peace officer to yell at an officer or to run away from them. If your defense lawyer can show the prosecutor that no violence took place, then you may instead face charges for committing breach of peace or even resisting arrest but not battery.
The Incident Was an Accident
Battery is an intent crime, so you may be found guilty of battery on a peace officer only if the D.A. can prove that you deliberately used unlawful physical force against the peace officer.
Example: Douglas is a bystander at a crowded political rally in Laughlin. At one point a fight breaks out, and someone knocks into Douglas, who then falls onto an on-duty police officer paroling the area. The police officer immediately arrests Douglas for battery on a peace officer. Fortunately, another bystander had the whole incident on iPhone video. Once the prosecutor saw that Douglas was at no fault for falling on the officer, he dropped the charges.
In short, purely accidental touching is not battery.
The Officer Was Not on Active Duty, or You Did Not Know They Were an Officer
As long as your attorney can show that the officer was not on duty at the time of the incident – or that you had no reason to know they were an on-duty officer – then you may face charges for battery but not battery on a peace officer. Typical evidence in these cases includes surveillance video and eyewitness accounts.
A potential defense to “battery of an officer” is that you did not know they were an officer.
Note that self-defense may also be a defense to “battery on a peace officer” charges in some circumstances.
3. Penalties
The specific circumstances of a “battery on a peace officer” case in Nevada dictate the harshness of the punishments:
No Special Circumstances
The typical “battery against a peace officer” case in Nevada that has no extenuating circumstances is a gross misdemeanor. The sentence is:
- a maximum of 364 days in jail, and/or
- a maximum of $2,000 in fines
With Major Injuries or Strangulation
“Battery on a peace officer” involving strangulation or resulting in substantial bodily harm to the victim is charged as a category B felony. The sentence is:
- 2 to 10 years imprisonment, and/or
- a maximum of $10,000 in fines
With Deadly Weapons
“Battery on a peace officer” involving deadly weapons is a category B felony. If it resulted in no substantial bodily harm to the victim and did not involve strangulation, the sentence is:
- 2 to 10 years imprisonment, and
- a maximum of $10,000 in fines
If the case did result in substantial bodily harm or involved strangulation, the sentence is:
- 2 to 15 years imprisonment, and
- maybe a maximum of $10,000 in fines.2
See our related article on battery with a deadly weapon.
Plea Bargains
In some cases, Nevada prosecutors may be amenable to lowering a “battery on a peace officer” charge to “simple battery.” Simple battery is only a misdemeanor carrying:
- up to $1,000 in fines, and/or
- up to 6 months in jail
Criminal Record Seals
The wait time to seal a gross misdemeanor conviction of battery on a peace officer is two years from the time the case is closed. (There is also a two-year wait time to seal misdemeanor simple battery convictions.)
Meanwhile, there is a ten-year wait time to seal a felony conviction of battery on a peace officer.
However, if your charge gets dismissed (meaning there is no conviction), you can pursue a record seal immediately in Nevada.3
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- Aggravated Battery – The Fist or Teeth as a Dangerous Weapon – Louisiana Law Review.
- Territorial Aggression – Expanding California’s Penal Code Regarding Assault and Battery of Code Enforcement Officers – McGeorge Law Review.
- What’s Reasonable: Self-Defense and Mistake in Criminal and Tort Law – Lewis & Clark Law Review.
- Defending Battered Women’s Self-Defense Claims – Oregon Law Review.
- Assault and Battery – Injury Sustained in Prize Fight – Consent as a Bar to Civil Liability – Vanderbilt Law Review.
Legal References:
- NRS 200.481 – Battery: Definitions; penalties
1. As used in this section:
(a) “Battery” means any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another.
(b) “Child” means a person less than 18 years of age.
(c) “Fire-fighting agency” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 239B.020.
(d) “Officer” means:
(1) A person who possesses some or all of the powers of a peace officer;
(2) A person employed in a full-time salaried occupation of fire fighting for the benefit or safety of the public;
(3) A member of a volunteer fire department;
(4) A jailer, guard, matron or other correctional officer of a city or county jail or detention facility;
(5) A prosecuting attorney of an agency or political subdivision of the United States or of this State;
(6) A justice of the Supreme Court, judge of the Court of Appeals, district judge, justice of the peace, municipal judge, magistrate, court commissioner, master or referee, including, without limitation, a person acting pro tempore in a capacity listed in this subparagraph;
(7) An employee of this State or a political subdivision of this State whose official duties require the employee to make home visits;
(8) A civilian employee or a volunteer of a law enforcement agency whose official duties require the employee or volunteer to:
(I) Interact with the public;
(II) Perform tasks related to law enforcement; and
(III) Wear identification, clothing or a uniform that identifies the employee or volunteer as working or volunteering for the law enforcement agency;
(9) A civilian employee or a volunteer of a fire-fighting agency whose official duties require the employee or volunteer to:
(I) Interact with the public;
(II) Perform tasks related to fire fighting or fire prevention; and
(III) Wear identification, clothing or a uniform that identifies the employee or volunteer as working or volunteering for the fire-fighting agency; or
(10) A civilian employee or volunteer of this State or a political subdivision of this State whose official duties require the employee or volunteer to:
(I) Interact with the public;
(II) Perform tasks related to code enforcement; and
(III) Wear identification, clothing or a uniform that identifies the employee or volunteer as working or volunteering for this State or a political subdivision of this State.
(e) “Provider of health care” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 200.471.
(f) “School employee” means a licensed or unlicensed person employed by a board of trustees of a school district pursuant to NRS 391.100 or 391.281.
(g) “Sporting event” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 41.630.
(h) “Sports official” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 41.630.
(i) “Strangulation” means intentionally applying sufficient pressure to another person to make it difficult or impossible for the person to breathe, including, without limitation, applying pressure to the neck, throat or windpipe that may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce the intake of air, or applying any pressure to the neck on either side of the windpipe, but not the windpipe itself, to stop the flow of blood to the brain via the carotid arteries.
(j) “Taxicab” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 706.8816.
(k) “Taxicab driver” means a person who operates a taxicab.
(l) “Transit operator” means a person who operates a bus or other vehicle as part of a public mass transportation system.
(m) “Utility worker” means an employee of a public utility as defined in NRS 704.020 whose official duties require the employee to:
(1) Interact with the public;
(2) Perform tasks related to the operation of the public utility; and
(3) Wear identification, clothing or a uniform that identifies the employee as working for the public utility.
2. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 200.485, a person convicted of a battery, other than a battery committed by an adult upon a child which constitutes child abuse, shall be punished:
(a) If the battery is not committed with a deadly weapon, and no substantial bodily harm to the victim results, except under circumstances where a greater penalty is provided in this section or NRS 197.090, for a misdemeanor.
(b) If the battery is not committed with a deadly weapon, and either substantial bodily harm to the victim results or the battery is committed by strangulation, for a category C felony as provided in NRS 193.130.
(c) If:
(1) The battery is committed upon:
(I) An officer, school employee, taxicab driver, transit operator or utility worker who was performing his or her duty;
(II) A provider of health care while the provider of health care is performing his or her duty or is on the premises where he or she performs that duty; or
(III) A sports official based on the performance of his or her duties at a sporting event;
(2) The officer, provider of health care, school employee, taxicab driver, transit operator, utility worker or sports official suffers substantial bodily harm or the battery is committed by strangulation; and
(3) The person charged knew or should have known that the victim was an officer, provider of health care, school employee, taxicab driver, transit operator, utility worker or sports official,
Ê for a category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 10 years, or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by both fine and imprisonment.
(d) If the battery:
(1) Is committed upon:
(I) An officer, school employee, taxicab driver, transit operator or utility worker who is performing his or her duty;
(II) A provider of health care while the provider of health care is performing his or her duty or is on the premises where he or she performs that duty; or
(III) A sports official based on the performance of his or her duties at a sporting event; and
(2) The person charged knew or should have known that the victim was an officer, provider of health care, school employee, taxicab driver, transit operator, utility worker or sports official,
Ê for a gross misdemeanor, except under circumstances where a greater penalty is provided in this section.
(e) If the battery is committed with the use of a deadly weapon, and:
(1) No substantial bodily harm to the victim results, for a category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 10 years, and may be further punished by a fine of not more than $10,000.
(2) Substantial bodily harm to the victim results or the battery is committed by strangulation, for a category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 15 years, and may be further punished by a fine of not more than $10,000.
(f) If the battery is committed by a probationer, a prisoner who is in lawful custody or confinement or a parolee, without the use of a deadly weapon, whether or not substantial bodily harm results and whether or not the battery is committed by strangulation, for a category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years.
(g) If the battery is committed by a probationer, a prisoner who is in lawful custody or confinement or a parolee, with the use of a deadly weapon, and:
(1) No substantial bodily harm to the victim results, for a category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 10 years.
(2) Substantial bodily harm to the victim results or the battery is committed by strangulation, for a category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 15 years.
- Id.
- NRS 179.245. NRS 179.255.