Penal Code 241 PC – Assault On a Police Officer – California Law

Updated January 16, 2022

Under Penal Code 241 PC, California law makes it a crime to assault a police officer or other public safety first responders while they are performing their official duties. This offense is a misdemeanor punishable by a sentence of up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $2000.00.

Note that the offense is often cited as 241 PC or 241 CPC as abbreviations for the California Penal Code.

An assault is when someone commits (or attempts to commit) a violent injury on another.

The statute reads that:

241(c). When an assault is committed against the person of a peace officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, mobile intensive care paramedic, lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, code enforcement officer, animal control officer, or search and rescue member engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care outside a hospital, clinic, or other health care facility, and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, mobile intensive care paramedic, lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, code enforcement officer, animal control officer, or search and rescue member engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care, the assault is punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment.

Examples

• throwing a rock at a cop.
• taking a swing at a policeman, while resisting arrest, but he ducks.
• spitting in the face of a public officer.

Defenses

An accused can challenge an assault charge with a legal defense. Common defenses include:

• no assault,
• no officer, and/or
• self-defense.

Penalties

A violation of 241c PC is a misdemeanor. This is opposed to a felony or an infraction.

The offense is punishable by:

• custody in county jail for up to one year, and/or
• a maximum fine of $2,000.

A judge can award misdemeanor (or summary) probation in lieu of jail time.

Our California criminal defense attorneys will discuss the following in this article:

• 1. What is considered an assault on a police officer?
  • 1.1. Application of force
  • 1.2. Other professionals included
• 2. Are there legal defenses to Penal Code 241 c PC?
  • 2.1. No assault
  • 2.2. No police officer
  • 2.3. Self-defense
• 3. What are the penalties for assault on a police officer?
• 4. Are there immigration consequences?
• 5. Can a person get a conviction expunged?
• 6. Does a conviction affect gun rights?
• 7. Are there related offenses?
  • 7.1. Battery on a police officer – PC 243
  • 7.2. Resisting arrest – PC 148
  • 7.3. Resisting an executive officer – PC 69

1. What is considered an assault on a police officer?

A prosecutor must prove the following to convict a person under Penal Code 241c:

1. the defendant did an act that by its nature would probably result in the application of force to a person,
2. the accused did the act willfully,
3. when the defendant acted, a reasonable person in his shoes could realize that the act would probably result in the application of force to someone,
4. when the accused acted, he had the ability to apply force to a person,
5. when the defendant acted, the person assaulted was lawfully performing his duties as a policeman, and
6. when the defendant acted, he knew that the person assaulted was a policeman.¹

Note that, under this statute, someone commits an act “willfully” when he does it:

• willingly, or
• on purpose.²

Questions often arise under this statute on the meaning of:

• application of force, and
• peace officer.

1.1. Application of force

The terms:

• “application of force,” and
• “apply force”

mean to touch someone in a harmful or offensive manner. The slightest touching can be enough for an assault if it is done in a rude or angry way.³

Example: A law enforcement officer is trying to talk to Jerome about a recent crime in his neighborhood. Jerome is irate because he thinks the cop is trying to blame him of the offense. He starts yelling and then approaches the cop. Jerome points his finger into the cop’s chest and yells, “get out of my face.”

Here, Jerome could be guilty of assaulting a cop. His finger into the cop’s chest is enough for a “harmful touching.” Jerome was visibly angry, and he acted in a rude manner.

Note that for an assault to occur, a “touching” does not have to cause pain or injury of any kind.⁴

Also, a prosecutor does not have to prove any of the following for there to be an assault:

• the defendant actually touched someone,
• the accused intended to use force against someone when he acted,
• the alleged victim was injured by the touching.⁵

Example: The police are called to a bar to break up a fight. Mike sees a cop talking to one of his friends. He wants to scare the cop away, so he throws a beer bottle in his direction. The bottle does not hit the cop and Mike never intended for it to hit him. He just wanted it to cause fear.

Here, Mike is guilty of assaulting a cop. There is no requirement that an actual “touching” occur. An attempted use of force is enough. The throwing of a bottle was an attempt to apply force. And, there is no requirement that a person caused serious bodily injury or intended to cause great bodily injury. And there is no requirement that a deadly weapon be used.

1.2. Other professionals included

241 PC is a form of aggravated assault in California. “Peace officer” is a broad term that includes police officers and:

• firefighter,
• California Highway Patrol officers,
• emergency medical technician (EMT) or paramedic,
• lifeguard,
• process server,
• traffic officer,
• animal control officer,
• search and rescue member, or
• doctor or nurse providing emergency medical care.⁶

This means it is a violation of this section if an accused assaults any of these professionals.

2. Are there legal defenses to Penal Code 241 c PC?

A defendant can try to overcome an assault charge with a legal defense.

Three common defenses to these criminal charges are:

1. no assault,
2. no police officer, and/or
3. self-defense

In any case, the district attorney has the burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

2.1. No assault

As discussed above, as assault is a specific act that involves the application of force. This means that it is always a defense for a defendant to show that his acts did not amount to an “assault.” Perhaps, for example, the accused:

• shouted at a policeman, and
• never applied force or attempted to apply force.

2.2. No police officer

Recall that this statute only applies to peace officers. Therefore, it is a defense for a defendant to say that:

• while he may have committed an assault on someone,
• that person was not a protected class under the statute

Note, however, that the accused could still be found guilty under Penal Code 240 PC. This is California’s general assault law.

2.3 Self-defense

This defense applies when a police officer breaks the law and engages in excessive force or other police misconduct. In these situations, a person can use self-defense to protect himself.

This defense will work if the accused:

• believed that he was in “imminent danger,”
• believed that force was necessary to stop the danger, and
• used an appropriate level of force in defense.⁷

Note that in these situations, we may file a Pitchess motion to obtain the police officer’s personnel record. If we find that the officer has a documented history of misconduct, this can be used to support our case.

3. What are the penalties for assault on a police officer?

Assaulting a peace officer is a misdemeanor.

The offense is punishable by:

• custody in county jail for up to one year, and/or
• a maximum fine of $2,000.⁸

4. Are there immigration consequences?

A conviction of assault on a police officer does not impact a person’s immigration status.

California law says that some criminal convictions will cause a non-citizen to be:

• deported, or
• marked as inadmissible.

An example involves a conviction for an aggravated felony.

PC 241 c violations, though, do not have this effect.

5. Can a person get a conviction expunged?

A person can get an expungement if convicted of assaulting a peace officer.

This is true provided that the defendant successfully completes:

• probation, or
• his jail term (whichever was imposed).

An expungement of a criminal record is favorable since it:

• removes many of the hardships,
• associated with a conviction.

6. Does a conviction affect gun rights?

A conviction under this statute does not impact a person’s gun rights.

Some California crimes will cause a defendant to lose his right to:

• own a gun, or
• possess a gun.

An example is any crime that is charged as a felony.

Assaulting a policeman, though, will not produce either of these results.

7. Are there related offenses?

There are three crimes related to assaulting a police officer charges. These are:

1. battery on a police officer – PC 243,
2. resisting arrest – PC 148, and
3. resisting an executive officer – PC 69.

7.1. Battery on a police officer – PC 243

Penal Code 243 PC makes it a crime for a person to:

1. willfully and unlawfully touch a cop in a harmful manner, and
2. do so while the cop is engaged in the performance of his duties.

Unlike Penal Code 241 c, there must be an actual touching for a crime under this statute.

7.2. Resisting arrest – PC 148

Penal Code 148 PC is the California statute that makes it a crime for a person to:

1. willfully resist or obstruct a policeman, or EMT, and
2. do so in the performance of his official duties.

It is not a crime, though, if a person is:

• acting in self-defense,
• to unlawful police aggression.

7.3. Resisting an executive officer – PC 69

Penal Code 69 PC is the California statute that makes it a crime for a person to:

1. try to prevent an executive official from performing his duties, or
2. resist an executive official in the performance of his duties.

An executive official is defined as:

• a government official who may use his own discretion,
• in performing his duties.

For additional help…

For information on assault laws in Nevada or Colorado, please see our law offices’ articles on:

• “NRS 200.471 – Nevada Assault and Battery Laws,” and
• “Colorado Assault Laws.”

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