A congressman from Illinois has proposed a bill that, according to those who are opposed to it, would make it permissible for anyone who is undergoing a mental health episode to assault law enforcement officials.
During the month of February, Democratic state Representative Lisa Davis, who is also an attorney working in the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender’s office, presented House Bill 3458.
According to the provisions of the legislation, the legislation would “[provide] that it is a defense to aggravated battery when the individual battered is a peace officer and the officer responded to an incident in which the officer interacted with a person whom a reasonable officer could believe was having a mental health episode and the person with whom the officer interacted has a documented mental illness and acted abruptly.”
Both Representatives Marcus Evans and Kelly Cassidy have joined forces to become co-sponsors of the bill.
According to the current law, an individual in the state of Illinois can be charged with aggravated battery if they assault “an individual whom the individual knows to be a peace officer, community policing volunteer, fireman, private security officer, correctional institution employee, or Department of Human Services employee supervising or controlling sexually dangerous persons or sexually violent persons.”
The initial report on the bill was published on Second Cop City, a blog that covers issues pertaining to the Chicago Police Department.
According to the site, “if this passes, mental illness will be an excuse to attack and beat police officers,” and this is what I believe will happen. “In fact, who wants to bet there will be thousands of people who suddenly have doctor notes that permit them to attack cops?”
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Under Davis’s idea, assaults on law enforcement agents would be sanctioned. Firefighters, like her husband, would be spared, along with other first responders, especially firefighters.
According to the news report, the bill has been sent to the Rules Committee of the Illinois General Assembly, which is the committee that is responsible for putting legislation that is unpopular to rest.
