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Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer in Raleigh

Were you recently arrested in the Research Triangle area for an alleged assault on a law enforcement officer or some other protected class of individuals? You should refuse to make any kind of statement to authorities until you have legal counsel. Contact the Coolidge Law Firm as soon as possible.

David Coolidge is an experienced criminal defense lawyer in Raleigh who represents clients accused of violent crimes in Wake Forest, Garner, Holly Springs, Raleigh, Cary, Apex, and many surrounding areas of Wake County as well as students at such local higher learning institutions as Wake Technical Community College (Wake Tech), Meredith College, William Peace University, and North Carolina State University. Call us right now to have our attorney review your case and answer all of your legal questions during a free, confidential consultation.

Attorney for Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer in Raleigh

Any alleged assault crime is a serious accusation, but criminal penalties can be dramatically increased if the alleged victim happened to be a member of a protected class of individuals. State law in North Carolina establishes enhanced penalties for alleged offenders accused of assaulting law enforcement, probation, or parole officers, members of the North Carolina National Guard, firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), medical responders, or hospital personnel.

Whereas many simple assaults are misdemeanors, an assault committed upon one of these protected individuals is usually a felony offense. Depending on the prior criminal record of the alleged offender, a conviction could result in a very lengthy prison sentence.

(919) 239-8448

Overview of Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer in North Carolina

How are assaults on law enforcement officers graded?
What are the possible consequences of a conviction?
Where can I find more information about assault on a law enforcement officer in Raleigh?

Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer Charges in Wake County

Different kinds of assault offenses are established under Chapter 14, Article 8 of the North Carolina General Statutes. Specific types of assault committed upon certain protected individuals include the following:

Assault with a firearm or other deadly weapon upon governmental officers or employees, company police officers, or campus police officers — North Carolina General Statute § 14-34.2 makes it a Class F felony for an alleged offender to commit an assault with a firearm or any other deadly weapon upon an officer or employee of the state or of any political subdivision of the state, a company police officer, or a campus police officer in the performance of his or her duties.

Assault with a firearm on a law enforcement, probation, or parole officer, or on a member of the North Carolina National Guard, or on a person employed at a State or local detention facility — Under North Carolina General Statute § 14-34.5, it is a Class E felony if an alleged offender commits an assault with a firearm upon a law enforcement officer, probation officer, parole officer, a member of the North Carolina National Guard, or a person who is employed at a detention facility operated under the jurisdiction of the state or a local government while the officer, member, or employee is in the performance of his or her duties.

Assault or affray on a firefighter, an emergency medical technician, medical responder, and hospital personnel — North Carolina General Statute § 14-34.6 makes it a Class I felony for an alleged offender to commit an assault or affray causing physical injury on any of the following persons who are discharging or attempting to discharge their official duties: An emergency medical technician or other emergency health care provider, a medical responder, a hospital personnel and licensed healthcare providers who are providing or attempting to provide health care services to a patient in a hospital, or a firefighter. If the alleged offender inflicts serious bodily injury or uses a deadly weapon other than a firearm, the offense is a Class H felony. If the alleged offender uses a firearm, the offense is a Class F felony.

Certain assaults on a law enforcement, probation, or parole officer, or on a member of the North Carolina National Guard, or on a person employed at a State or local detention facility — Under North Carolina General Statute § 14-34.7, it is a Class I Felony if the alleged offender inflicts serious injury on a law enforcement officer, probation officer, parole officer, a member of the North Carolina National Guard, or a person who is employed at a detention facility operated under the jurisdiction of the state or a local government while the officer or member is discharging or attempting to discharge his or her official duties or while the employee is in the performance of the employee’s duties. It becomes a Class F Felony if the alleged offender not only assaults the officer, member, or employee but also inflicts serious bodily injury.

Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer Penalties in Raleigh

Punishments for felony offenses in North Carolina can vary depending on how an alleged offender is classified under the state’s “structured sentencing” system. Structured sentencing classifies alleged offenders on the basis of the severity of their alleged crime and on the extent and gravity of their prior criminal records.

Structured Sentencing uses three kinds of punishments: Active, intermediate, and community. An active punishment requires an offender to be incarcerated in a state prison or jail, an intermediate punishment requires a sentence of supervised probation and can also include one or more special conditions (such as substance abuse assessment, drug treatment court, house arrest with electronic monitoring, community service, or others), and a community punishment may consist of a term of supervised or unsupervised probation which can also include other requirements such as fines, restitution, or any other condition of probation.

Alleged offenders are classified into one of six prior record levels depending on the extent and gravity of their prior record. The structured sentencing also provides three different sentencing ranges: a mitigated range is for cases with mitigating factors, an aggravated range for cases with aggravating factors, and a presumptive range is for cases with an equal amount of or no mitigating factors and aggravating factors.

Alleged offenders accused of any of the assault on a law enforcement officer or other protected class offenses listed above could be subject to the following sentence ranges if convicted:

	Prior Record Level I (0-1 point)	Prior Record Level II (2-5 points)	Prior Record Level III (6-9 points)	Prior Record Level IV (10-13 points)	Prior Record Level V (14-17 points)	Prior Record Level VI (18+ points)
Class E	Intermediate or Active	Intermediate or Active	Active	Active	Active	Active
Aggravated	25-31 months	29-36 months	33-41 months	38-48 months	44-55 months	50-63 months
Presumptive	20-25 months	23-29 months	26-33 months	30-38 months	35-44 months	45-50 months
Mitigated	15-20 months	17-23 months	20-26 months	23-30 months	26-35 months	30-40 months
Class F	Intermediate or Active	Intermediate or Active	Intermediate or Active	Active	Active	Active
Aggravated	16-20 months	19-23 months	21-27 months	25-31 months	28-36 months	33-41 months
Presumptive	13-16 months	15-19 months	17-21 months	20-25 months	23-28 months	26-33 months
Mitigated	10-13 months	11-15 months	13-17 months	15-20 months	17-23 months	20-26 months
Class H	Community, Intermediate, or Active	Intermediate or Active	Intermediate or Active	Intermediate or Active	Intermediate or Active	Active
Aggravated	6-8 months	8-10 months	10-12 months	11-14 months	15-19 months	20-25 months
Presumptive	5-6 months	6-8 months	8-10 months	9-11 months	12-15 months	16-20 months
Mitigated	4-5 months	4-6 months	6-8 months	7-9 months	9-12 months	12-16 months
Class I	Community	Community or Intermediate	Intermediate	Intermediate or Active	Intermediate or Active	Intermediate or Active
Aggravated	6-8 months	6-8 months	6-8 months	8-10 months	9-11 months	10-12 months
Presumptive	4-6 months	4-6 months	5-6 months	6-8 months	7-9 months	8-10 months
Mitigated	3-4 months	3-4 months	4-5 months	4-6 months	5-7 months	6-8 months

North Carolina Resources for Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer Arrests

Raleigh Police Department — Visit this website to learn more about the Raleigh Police Department. View a district map and obtain incident, crash, or criminal history reports. You can also find various crime prevention tips.

Raleigh Police Department
222 W. Hargett St.
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 996-3335

Wake County Sheriff’s Office — On this website, you can find all kinds of information about the Wake County Sheriff’s Office. Learn about the office’s many divisions and services. You can also find frequently asked questions about the Wake County Jail.

Wake County Sheriff’s Office
330 S. Salisbury St.
Raleigh, NC 27602
(919) 856-6900

Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer Defense Lawyer

If you were arrested for an alleged assault on a law enforcement officer in the Research Triangle area, it is in your best interest to not say anything to authorities until you have legal representation. The Coolidge Law Firm aggressively defends clients all over Wake County, including Wendell, Zebulon, Rolesville, Fuquay-Varina, Morrisville, Knightdale, and several other nearby communities.

Raleigh criminal defense attorney David Coolidge also represents students at such colleges in the area as Shaw University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). He can provide an honest and thorough evaluation of your case when you call (919) 239-8448 or complete the contact form below to schedule a free initial consultation.

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I can not say enough good about David Coolidge and the Law Firm! From the moment of our 1st interaction, I could tell that David TRULY cares and has a passion about the cases he takes on. I was anxious and nervous about my case from the beginning. David immediately showed his support and listened with an empathetic ear. From that moment on, I felt as though I knew I could trust him to put his whole heart into helping me with my case. He is intelligent, kind and completely nonjudgmental. He will listen to you and is so very supportive. I really felt, and still do, that he really cared about helping me. His passion for his work and in helping others shines. We VERY HAPPILY, had a GREAT outcome from the case and I could not be happier. As I told him when we left the court room that morning... “David, you have changed my life forever”. I would recommend David and this Law Firm to EVERYONE who is reading this review.

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David Coolidge is a wonderful attorney! I hired him twice for two different cases that I had which were only 2 months apart. He's very thorough and efficient. I was even able to reach him after hours through phone calls, texts, and email. Hopefully I never need his services again but if I am in a similar predicament I would most definitely hire David again.

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