State Representative Kip Capley, a Republican from Summertown, successfully advanced a bill on Monday that aims to provide increased protections for police officers in Tennessee. The proposed legislation, known as the Back the Blue Act, seeks to elevate the severity of penalties for assaults against law enforcement personnel. If enacted, the bill would elevate the offense of assaulting a police officer from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony. This would result in a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 days in prison and a fine of $10,000.
Currently, in Tennessee, assaulting a first responder, which includes nurses, firefighters, and emergency services personnel, is considered a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a 30-day jail term and a $5,000 fine. The Back the Blue Act aims to align the penalties for assaulting law enforcement officers with those for assaulting other first responders.
According to data from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), there were 1,603 reported incidents of simple assaults on law enforcement officers in the state last year. The proposed legislation, House Bill 1881, will need approval from the Senate and Governor Bill Lee’s signature to become law. If successful, the bill is slated to take effect on July 1, ushering in stricter consequences for individuals who commit acts of violence against police officers in Tennessee.