2026 -- S 3164

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LC006210

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- ASSAULTS

     Introduced By: Senators Bissaillon, and Britto

     Date Introduced: March 27, 2026

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 11-5-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-5 entitled "Assaults" is

hereby amended to read as follows:

     11-5-5. Assault of police officers and other officials.

     Any person who shall make an assault or battery, or both, by knowingly and willfully either

(1) striking, or (2) spraying with a noxious chemical, commonly used as a personal defense weapon,

including Mace and an oleoresin capsicum product or like products, a uniformed member of the

state police or metropolitan park police, environmental police officer, state properties patrol officer,

probation and parole officers, state government case worker or investigator, judge of the supreme,

superior, family, district court, traffic tribunal or municipal court, deputy sheriff, city or town police

officer or firefighter, member of the capitol police, member of campus security force of state

colleges and universities, member of the Rhode Island airport police department, member of the

Rhode Island fugitive task force, Rhode Island public transit authority bus driver, or on-duty

plainclothes member of the town, city, or state police force, investigator of the department of the

attorney general appointed pursuant to § 42-9-8.1, or member of the railroad police after proper

identification is displayed, or any railroad worker, or uniformed dog officer, or out-of-state police

officer called into Rhode Island under a cooperative agreement to provide mutual aid at the request

of the state of Rhode Island pursuant to chapter 37 of title 42, or assistant attorney general or special

assistant attorney general, or employees of the department of environmental management

responsible for administrative inspections or any constable authorized by chapter 45-16 of the

Rhode Island general law causing bodily injury while the officer or official is engaged in the

performance of his or her duty, shall be deemed to have committed a felony, and shall be

imprisoned not exceeding three (3) years, or fined not exceeding fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500),

or both.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- ASSAULTS

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     This act would make assault on a railroad worker resulting in personal injury a felony.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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