| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to assault or battery of law enforcement |
| 3 | officers; creating s. 784.071, F.S.; providing a |
| 4 | definition; requiring issuance of a specified alert after |
| 5 | an attack upon a law enforcement officer in certain |
| 6 | circumstances; providing an effective date. |
| 7 |
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| 8 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Section 1. Section 784.071, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 11 | to read: |
| 12 | 784.071 Assault or battery of law enforcement officer; |
| 13 | alert.- |
| 14 | (1) As used in this section, the term "blue alert" means |
| 15 | an alert issued after an attack upon a law enforcement officer |
| 16 | as described in subsection (2). |
| 17 | (2) Upon the request of an authorized person at a law |
| 18 | enforcement agency that is investigating an offense described in |
| 19 | paragraph (a), the Florida Highway Patrol shall activate the |
| 20 | Emergency Alert System and issue a blue alert if all of the |
| 21 | following conditions are met: |
| 22 | (a) A law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 784.07, |
| 23 | has been killed, has suffered serious bodily injury, or has been |
| 24 | assaulted with a deadly weapon and a suspect has fled the scene |
| 25 | of the offense. |
| 26 | (b) A law enforcement agency investigating the offense |
| 27 | determines that such a suspect poses an imminent threat to the |
| 28 | public or other law enforcement personnel. |
| 29 | (c) A detailed description of the suspect's vehicle or |
| 30 | other means of escape or license plate is available for |
| 31 | broadcast. |
| 32 | (d) Dissemination of available information to the public |
| 33 | may help avert further harm or assist in the apprehension of the |
| 34 | suspect. |
| 35 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |