Proposed bill will make police attacks hate crimes

“Attacking a law enforcement officer and first responders is a significant event and adding this is a tremendous step forward to prevent assaults,” said Bill Puett, the Buchanan County sheriff.

The FBI defines a hate crime as a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity.

If passed, the offender could face a Class E or D felony. A class E felony carries a sentence of up to four years in jail, and a class D felony carries a term of up to seven years of imprisonment.