Assault is a serious crime throughout Australia and assaulting a police officer is arguably one of the most serious crimes you can commit. If you’ve been charged with assaulting a police officer, the first thing you should do is enlist the services of experienced criminal lawyers with a strong reputation.
Failing to do this could result in serious penalties. Even if you do use a decent lawyer you might still be convicted, but your sentence/financial penalty should be less. In the rest of this article we should look at a few of the things you should do if you’ve been charged with assault of a police officer (or some variation of the charge). We’ll also look at some of the likely penalties associated with these charges.
*Note that this article will focus specifically on the process and outcomes of being charged with assaulting a police officer in Victoria. While the law is similar throughout Australia, you need to make sure that you do you own research.
Under What Circumstances Would I Be Charged With Assaulting A Police Officer?
Well, the charge basically speaks for itself. In Victoria, you could be charged with assault of a police officer under a range of circumstances. The Crimes Act 1958 states that:
“A person who assaults or threatens to assault, resist or intentionally obstructs an emergency worker on duty, knowing or being reckless as to whether the person was an emergency worker is guilty of an indictable offence.”
In short, if you kick, punch, or otherwise obstruct or assault a police officer, you could be charged. This applies both in cases where you might be resisting arrest and where you happen to simply do the wrong thing at the wrong time.
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