Tougher penalties for spitting on police and first responders in NJ

🚨 Police say more suspects are spitting on them
🚨 NJ seeks to toughen penalties for spitting on police
🚨 Measure includes all first responders

Police officers say they face enough danger without having to worry about people spitting on them, yet it happens with alarming frequency.

The New Jersey legislature has approved an increase in penalties for spitting on police or any assault that involves "bodily fluids."

In New Jersey's prisons, corrections officers report they are often assaulted with an inmate's urine or feces.

The Assembly gave unanimous approval to a bill that increases penalties for any assault on a police officer or any first responder, including paid or volunteer fire fighters, court service officers, first aid and medical workers.

If the assault results in serious bodily injury, the crime is upgraded to a second-degree crime. In New Jersey, second-degree crimes carry a prison term up to 10 years.

Under the legislation, "serious bodily injury" is defined as an injury that "creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ."

The legislation would also prevent a person charged under the new law from entering New Jersey's pretrial intervention program.

Mandatory disease testing

In addition to increasing the penalties for spitting on an officer, any assault involving bodily fluids would require mandatory disease testing.

The person charged with a bodily fluid attack would be required to undergo testing for communicable diseases. If anything is detected, the police officer would be notified.

There is currently no such requirement, often leaving the officer and his/her family worrying about potential exposures.

Having won full approval by both the Senate and Assembly, the legislation now heads to Gov. Phil Murphy who will decide whether to sign it into law.

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