Illinois lawmaker, Democratic state Representative Lisa Davis, has introduced a bill which opponents say will allow for attacks against police officers. House Bill 3458, which already has two co-sponsors, 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.”
Fox News explains that currently, a person in Illinois can be charged with aggravated battery if they attack “an individual whom the person 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.”
Second Cop City, a blog that reports on Chicago policing matters, first reported on the bill.
“If this passes, mental illness will be an excuse to attack and beat police officers,” the blog states. “In fact, who wants to bet there will be thousands of people who suddenly have doctor notes that permit them to attack cops?”
Davis’ proposal would legalize attacks on police officers. Other first responders would be spared, such as firefighters, like her husband, CWB Chicago reported.
