(a) A person commits assault against a first responder or nurse, who is discharging or attempting to discharge the first responder’s or nurse’s official duties, who:

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class C felony3 to 15 yearsup to $10,000
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
criminal case

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-13-116

  • Bodily injury: includes a cut, abrasion, bruise, burn or disfigurement, and physical pain or temporary illness or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Deadly weapon: means :
    (A) A firearm or anything manifestly designed, made or adapted for the purpose of inflicting death or serious bodily injury. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Defendant: means a person accused of an offense under this title and includes any person who aids or abets the commission of such offense. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Highway: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Law enforcement officer: includes a sheriff, sheriff's deputy, and, only for purposes of the enhancement of a crime, a deputy jailer. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Serious bodily injury: means bodily injury that involves:
    (A) A substantial risk of death. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Services: includes labor, skill, professional service, transportation, telephone, mail, gas, electricity, steam, water, cable television, entertainment subscription service or other public services, accommodations in hotels, restaurants or elsewhere, admissions to exhibitions, use of vehicles or other movable property, and any other activity or product considered in the ordinary course of business to be a service, regardless of whether it is listed in this subdivision (a)(38) or a specific statute exists covering the same or similar conduct. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
(1) Knowingly causes bodily injury to a first responder or nurse; or
(2) Knowingly causes physical contact with a first responder or nurse and a reasonable person would regard the contact as extremely offensive or provocative, including, but not limited to, spitting, throwing, or otherwise transferring bodily fluids, bodily pathogens, or human waste onto the person of a first responder or nurse.
(b) A person commits aggravated assault against a first responder or nurse, who is discharging or attempting to discharge the first responder or nurse’s official duties, who knowingly commits an assault under subsection (a), and the assault:

(1) Results in serious bodily injury to the first responder or nurse;
(2) Results in the death of the first responder or nurse;
(3) Involved the use or display of a deadly weapon; or
(4) Involved strangulation or attempted strangulation.
(c)

(1) Assault under subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a mandatory fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000) and a mandatory minimum sentence of thirty (30) days incarceration. The defendant is not eligible for release from confinement until the defendant has served the entire thirty-day mandatory minimum sentence.
(2) Aggravated assault under subsection (b) is a Class C felony, and is punished by a mandatory fine of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) and a mandatory minimum sentence of ninety (90) days incarceration. The defendant is not eligible for release from confinement until the defendant has served the entire ninety-day mandatory minimum sentence.
(d) For purposes of this section:

(1) “First responder”:

(A) Means a firefighter, emergency services personnel, POST-certified law enforcement officer, or other person who responds to calls for emergency assistance from a 911 call; and
(B) Includes capitol police officers, Tennessee highway patrol officers, Tennessee bureau of investigation agents, Tennessee wildlife resources agency officers, deputy jailers, and park rangers employed by the division of parks and recreation in the department of environment and conservation; and
(2) “Nurse” means a person who is licensed, registered, or certificated under title 63, chapter 7.
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