What is assault and battery against a peace officer or law enforcement officer in Oklahoma and what are the associated penalties?
Answer: Well, if anyone attacks or commits an assault—from the definition of assault under Oklahoma statute—upon a police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff, highway patrolman, corrections personnel, or other state or peace officer who has been employed, or is duly appointed by any state governmental agency to enforce state laws while the officer is in the performance of his or her duties, is an assault and battery on a police officer or a law enforcement officer. The possible punishment is imprisonment in the county jail, not to exceed six months, or by a fine not exceeding $500, or by both such fine and imprisonment. As more of those occur, if more than one occurs, then the punishments, of course, can go up. Now there is, if the person who is accused of this has a justifiable or excusable cause for the assault or and/or battery, then that is a possible defense to the charge. There’s another offense or another element to this that is knowingly. Knowingly means that you have, they have to know that it’s a police officer. Either the officer has to have identified themselves or be in uniform. If it’s an off-duty officer that they get in a fight with at a gas station, then that is not an assault and battery on a police officer.