Gov. Baker files bill to increase penalty for assaulting police officer
Gov. Charlie Baker filed legislation on Thursday that would increase the punishment for assaulting a police officer from a misdemeanor to a felony and create a mandatory minimum sentence for the crime.
“Police officers have difficult, dangerous jobs,” Baker wrote in an open letter to legislators. “Under current law, people who assault police officers during the course of their duties are treated the same as those who assault any other public employee. This state of the law fails to recognize the seriousness of certain assaults on police officers and the danger to the community posed by people who would assault a police officer.”
The proposed bill creates a one-year minimum sentence for anyone convicted of an assault and battery that causes serious bodily injury to a police officer. The maximum sentence would be increased to 10 years in prison.
Baker’s bill would also allow judges to determine whether suspects should be held pretrial based on the severity of the alleged crime.
The law comes on the heels of the tragic shooting death of Auburn Police officer Ronald Tarentino in May. The shooter, Jorge Zambrano, had a history of alleged assaults on police officers, including an alleged assault on a Worcester Police officer in January, The Boston Globe reported.
A district judge continued that case for a year without a finding, and Zambrano was sent to mental health counseling and drug and alcohol testing, a plan recommended by prosecutors and the defense, the Globe reported. In May, Zambrano allegedly shot and killed Tarentino during a traffic stop before being killed in a shootout with police.
“Being able to hold someone who has committed a serious assault on a police officer would be a significant step toward keeping dangerous individuals off the streets as they await trial,” Public Safety Secretary Dan Bennett said in a statement.
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