Assault on a Police Officer - Penal Code 241(c) PC
Obviously, if somebody is charged with assault on a police officer, they are going to be facing some serious punishment. When someone is charged with this crime, the problem that I see in defending these types of cases is that it involves a peace officer or a police officer.
The reason for that is that the prosecutors are typically friendly and cautious when it comes to defending or dealing with cases where a police officer is the victim. The prosecutors work hand in hand with the police all the time, in and out of court and they feel like they have a duty to protect them even more than the general public in my experience.
So, if you're charged with assaulting a police officer you better get a good attorney on your side who knows how to handle these cases and can fight the charges by way of investigation and getting the evidence together and bringing to bear experience to be able to defend these types of cases in Los Angeles. In order to do that, call our office at (213) 542-0979 and talk with our Assault on Police Attorney in Los Angeles CA.
As far as the law goes, it's basically using violence towards another person. In this case, it would be a law enforcement personnel where usually there's no physically striking or hitting, but the police officer obviously would be in reasonable fear that you were going to strike them.
A lot of times I see these assault on a police officer cases come up when the police come out to the scene of a crime – either someone's called 911 or they pull up on the scene and people are angry.
They are yelling, they're screaming, they're combative and now the police have to get involved – stop them from doing whatever it is they're doing and they end up getting themselves into an argument or a struggle with the person or persons that are involved and then when all is said and done, now the police are going to have to justify whatever actions they took towards inflicting violence against that person.
A lot of times they will charge the person with assault on a police officer, disturbing the peace or some other battery-related offense so they can justify whatever they did to that person, and not get disciplined by their department or sued by the individual that's involved. Anyone charged with an assault crime needs to get in touch with a lawyer with experienced in handling such cases.
Defenses for Assault on a Police Officer
Well, one defense that I use all the time and actually with good success is, if the police are not in the performance of one of their duties as a police officer when they come in contact with somebody and act violent towards them and do something crazy to them, and then that person tries to defend themselves.
Then obviously that's not going to be a situation where they are going to be able to file a charge against my client and be successful. So, that's the thing. Are they in the performance of their duties?
Sometimes they get called out to a scene and now they're going to get into an argument or fight with somebody because of some emotional or personal thing that they have going, versus some duty that they need to execute.
For example, if the person that they're dealing with is not even the person they were called out to deal with and somehow now they get in an argument and a problem with them, that would be the first step towards proving they're not in the performance of their duties and they should not have done what they did to that person and therefore, the person shouldn't be charged with assaulting a police officer.
So, really what it comes down to is the factual scenario in these assault on a police officer cases that presents itself, and then what ultimately ends up happening in these cases is – a jury looks at it. They decide.
So, if a jury would think that you were innocent, you didn't do anything wrong, then it's worth fighting the case and obviously, you get the best attorney you can to fight it, so you can be successful. If on the other hand, a jury's going to say look, the police were just called out, they're doing their job and you're acting like a jerk and so you should be charged with that and even worse things.
Then obviously, that's the type of case you're not going to take to trial and you are going to want to get your attorney to negotiate some sort of a plea bargain and convince the prosecutors not to put you in jail – try to set something up to protect your record in the future. Call our office to speak with and attorney and we will do everything to have the charges reduced or dismissed.
Reviewing Best Defense Strategy
What I typically do in these cases, I get into the office, we go over everything. I just ask that you are honest and straightforward. Don't put a spin on the facts and really tell me what happened so we can figure out whether you have a defense or not. If you do have a defense then we're just going to assert it, we're going to do the investigation.
These guys now have body cams. They have video in their car. There are a bunch of citizens a lot of time that will take video, so there's evidence now that's available to challenge the police in these assault on a police officer cases that was not available in the past.
It always ended up being one person's word against the police's word and that person was arrested and was usually involved in some sort of criminal behavior, so they weren't believed. Nowadays, we get you in the office.
We figure out exactly what our plan is going to be. I tell you what you're going to do to help me and I tell you what I'm going to do moving forward to help you. When we're both moving in the same direction, now you start to get a bit of peace of mind back because it's very scary being arrested for a criminal case in LA and now we can start to take control back and get the matter resolved as quick as possible, preserve your record, preserve your freedom, your reputation and obviously all the things that you hold dear in your life.
Contact our Law Firm for Help
If you are being charged with assault on a police officer, you immediately need the services of not only an experienced but also aggressive defense attorney. Our law firm has dealt with assault cases including assault on a police officer. We have seen great results and have had satisfied clients.
Our lawyers will explain all the details of your charge to you, including the law, the possible penalties, and the defenses we may assert on your behalf. Assault generally is defined as an attempted battery. To be charged with assault on a police officer, the assault must have occurred while the officer was performing his or her duty of promoting public peace.
To convict you of assault on a police officer, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that first you knew the person was a police officer within the scope of his or her duties. The prosecution must also prove that you intentionally tried to apply physical force on the police officer.
Often times, assault on a police officer may be charged as aggravated assault and may have harsher penalties than simple assault. As your criminal attorney, we want to prevent a conviction. We want to intervene and do everything we can to get the best results. We are very aware that often times police officers use and abuse their authority and try to pin assault on a police officer on a person if things do not go their way.
We will investigate and do our research to point out and see what exactly occurred that led to your arrest. We guarantee our competence, our persistence, and our dedication. Contact a Los Angeles assault on police officer lawyer to learn how we can defend you in court.
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