Firefighters in Florida must respond to accident scenes and conflagrations. When people are charged with assaulting firefighters or committing batteries against them, the defendants may face stiff penalties.
Florida law specifically forbids assaults and batteries on firefighters as well as other first responders. There are several levels of offenses that depend on the severity of the assaults and the presence of any weapons. If a person is convicted of a simple assault on a firefighter, the person may face a misdemeanor of the second or first degree. If the person is convicted of a battery against a firefighter, he or she may face a first-degree misdemeanor or a third-degree felony, depending on the severity.
Defendants who are convicted of committing aggravated assaults of firefighters may be convicted of third-degree or second-degree felonies. Defendants who commit batteries of firefighters while they are in possession of firearms will face mandatory minimum sentences of three years in prison. If they commit the batteries while they are in possession of semiautomatic weapons, they face minimum sentences of eight years if they are convicted.
Felony charges may lead to severe penalties if the defendants are convicted as charged. People who are facing serious criminal allegations might want to get help from experienced criminal defense lawyers as soon as they can. Attorneys may work to build the defense cases for their clients so that they are prepared to defend against the allegations. They may interview witnesses and analyze the evidence to determine what happened. They may also challenge the admissibility of some types of evidence if it was gathered in an unconstitutional manner. Attorneys may negotiate plea offers that may include lesser charges.
