Assault on a police officer during execution: features of sentencing, aggravating and mitigating circumstances

Attacked a police officer on duty? Be prepared to answer before the law and receive a real sentence of 12 years to life imprisonment.

Both against an ordinary citizen and a police officer, assault, beating and any violent actions are punishable by law. If disobedience to a representative of law enforcement agencies is regulated in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, then criminal punishment is provided for fighting and beating, up to life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Any illegal actions against a representative of an authority (police officer) are recognized as a threat to the entire system of the state and the work of the police department.

If you have a fight with a police officer, the lawyers of our company advise you to seek help from an experienced lawyer. This will allow you to comply with all procedural norms, prepare evidence and evidence in the case, excluding provocation on the part of the investigation and interested parties.

What is the punishment for assaulting a police officer while on duty?

Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation includes two parts. The first contains penalties for an attack during which violence is used against a police officer that is not dangerous to his life or health (or a threat is made). The actions of the criminal are directly related to the performance of professional duties by the police officer.

Violence is divided into mental (statement and demonstration of threats) and physical:

beatings and other actions that cause pain;
restriction of freedom (locking in a room, tying, etc.).

These actions committed against a police officer while on duty are punishable by:

a fine - up to 200 thousand rubles or in the amount of the salary (income) of the perpetrator for a period of up to 1.5 years;
forced labor – up to 5 years;
arrest for up to six months;
imprisonment - up to 5 years.

Second part of Art. 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes penalties for an attack during which violence dangerous to life or health is used against a police officer. Damage to health of any severity is considered dangerous if it has caused a life-threatening condition. Even if the intervention of doctors saved the victim from death, the qualifications of the criminal’s actions do not change.

Such an attack on a police officer while on duty is punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years.

Moreover, if an attacker deliberately deprives a law enforcement officer of his life or commits an attempted murder, his actions are interpreted as an attack on the life of a police officer. Responsibility for this particularly serious crime is enshrined in Art. 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – imprisonment for up to 20 years.

Basic Concepts

Law enforcement officers, while performing their official duties, are constantly in particular danger; the legislator, in turn, must provide people serving the state with decent protection. The Criminal Code provides for an article for attacking a police officer while on duty, as well as punishment for an attempt on his life. A person who violates a rule of law is held accountable and punished on a general basis.

An article of the Criminal Code defines an attack on a police officer as a particularly serious crime.

An attempt on the life of a police officer or an attack on him is committed with direct intent. The criminal is aware of his actions, and their illegal nature, accordingly, must be punished. Moreover, the actions of the perpetrator are of an impudent nature and are aimed not specifically at a person as an individual, but at a representative of the authorities. By his actions, the attacker disrespects the existing state apparatus. The subject of the violation is a sane person who has reached the age of sixteen. The criminal law considers the purpose of a crime to be obstructing the performance of direct duties by a police officer. This motive is often supplemented by the desire to hide another crime, personal hostility and hooliganism.

The object of the encroachment, according to Article 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the commentary to it, is the work of law enforcement agencies. The objective side of the violation is the use or threat of violence against a law enforcement officer. If there is a murder of a police officer, Article 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation considers an encroachment on the life of a law enforcement officer as an objective party. If at the time the crime was committed, the victim was not on duty (was not wearing a uniform), then the actions of the criminal are qualified under Article 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, but only if this is retaliation for his professional activities. In another situation, the perpetrator will be held liable under Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - murder.

Disobedience and resistance to a police officer in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Article 318 considers an attack on an officer during execution to be completed at the moment of the use of physical or mental violence against the police officer.

How to find out that an employee is fulfilling official duties

An attack on a police officer is qualified under Art. 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, only when it is committed to prevent him from performing his legal professional duties. That is, the criminal must realize that the victim of the attack is a representative of law enforcement agencies. And the reason for the attack is the latter’s performance of his official duty.

It is easy to understand that a police officer is on duty. In Part 1 of Art. 19 of Federal Law No. 3 of 02/07/2011 “On the Police” states that before using physical force, special means or weapons, a servant of the law:

reports that he is a police officer;
warns offenders of his intention;
provides them with the opportunity and time to comply with its legal requirements.

An important point is that a police officer, while on duty, is not necessarily dressed in uniform and carries an official identification card.

According to Part 3 of Art. 68 of Federal Law No. 342 of November 30, 2011 “On service in the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation”, a police officer is recognized as performing official duties when he:

prevents and suppresses violations of the law, helps people in a helpless or life-threatening state;
goes to the place of service, medical examination (treatment) or returns from there;
stays in a medical institution where he is undergoing treatment in connection with an illness or injury received in the course of performing professional duties;
held as a hostage;
takes part in official events (trainings, competitions, exercises).

What is the article for assaulting a police officer?

An attack on a law enforcement officer is regarded as a deliberate act that cannot be an accident. The motive for such a crime is most often revenge for legal activities - conviction, prosecution under a certain article, detention, etc.

The injured party is a person in execution or his family, for the use of violence, in respect of whom liability is provided under the following articles:

Art. 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - attack, beating and other forms of violence or attempt to commit violence;
Art. 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - attempted murder of a policeman, military personnel or their loved ones;
item b part 2 art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - murder.

Note!
If the injured party is not a government agency, but a police officer as an individual, then reconciliation of the parties is possible, which allows one to avoid deprivation of liberty when an agreement is reached between the participants in the incident.

Even just hitting a police officer, the guilty person will be punished starting at 16 years. If murder is committed, then responsibility begins from the age of 14.

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What to avoid

In practice, situations often arise when a citizen, against whom a police officer applies restrictive measures established by law, is dissatisfied with this. Conflicts between drivers and traffic police inspectors occur especially often.

In this case, the citizen should remember that the Law gives police officers the right to use physical force and even harm a person in order to prevent an offense. The police will not be held responsible for these actions.

Therefore, to avoid trouble, you should refrain from:

insults;
threats, including those expressed by gestures;
failure to follow instructions;
actions that interfere with a police officer’s work;
attempts to snatch a service ID, badge, or take possession of a service weapon;
attempts to spoil uniforms, etc.

If you are dissatisfied with the actions of servants of the law, the best option would be to record the process of communicating with them on camera and file a complaint about their actions with higher management, the prosecutor's office or the court.

Investigation of the case

To punish an attacker for assaulting a police officer, all stages of the procedure must be followed. Crimes that result in the death of a police officer are investigated especially carefully. After a beating, the victim must:

go to a medical facility and remove the beatings;
to write an application;
collect evidence.

To investigate, it is necessary to study the crime scene and record all important details. That is, it is imperative to perform standard investigative actions. In addition, you should pay attention to the following circumstances:

The fact of planning to commit a crime. That is, whether the criminal was preparing to beat a policeman, was looking for means and a place for this.
Is the attack a consequence of the police officer performing his duties? This could be revenge, intimidation, etc.
Has the victim received any threats?
Finding out the motives for the attack that are not related to the professional activities of the victim.
Determining the reasons why the law enforcement officer did not defend himself.

In practice, a police officer can use, for example, weapons for self-defense only in special cases. Legislative deficiencies affecting the large number of reports and liability for exceeding self-defense measures often lead to the death of law enforcement officials.

Selected issues of necessary defense

Criminal legislation enshrines the right of every person to the necessary defense - protection of the personality and rights of the defender or another person from unlawful encroachment.

The grounds and limits of the competence of necessary defense are specified in Art. 37 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. If they are observed, a person is released from liability for harm caused to the subject of an illegal attack, regardless of the characteristics of this subject. In other words, if a police officer, while on duty, exceeds his authority, then in order to protect himself from his illegal actions, a citizen has the right to resist him even by attacking and committing violent acts.

Features of sentencing

Disposition Art. 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for a wide range of illegal actions, the commission of which against a police officer on duty entails criminal punishment. Representatives of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation are engaged in collecting material and forming an evidence base for such crimes. Having prepared an indictment, the investigator of the RF IC sends the materials of the criminal case on the fact of an attack on a police officer on duty to the court.

During the consideration of the case, the court takes into account:

the nature and type of violence applied to the police officer while on duty;
the presence and severity of damage caused to his health as a result of the attack;
the reality and nature of the threat to the life of a servant of the law;
other circumstances that may influence the decision in the case.

It is being clarified whether the defendant was aware that he was attacking a police officer who was on duty. The question being decided is whether the necessary defense took place.

Responsibility for a crime

The Criminal Code provides for different sanctions for threats to attack a police officer, directly for an attack on an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as for attempted murder. Violence used against police officers, according to Art. 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, can be life-threatening and not dangerous. For beating an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the maximum sentence is 5 years in prison, but if as a result of the beating received a threat to life, then the act will be classified as serious, and the sentence will be increased to 10 years in prison. If there was a threat to a police officer, Article 318 provides for punishment in the form of:

fine, arrest for up to 6 months;
forced labor for up to 5 years.

It is important to note that if a police officer was attacked and subsequently physically injured, the provision of medical assistance by the criminal himself does not affect the qualification of the crime and is not a mitigating circumstance.

Many people are interested in how much they pay for killing a police officer, because in society there is often hatred towards performers of this profession. In fact, these people deserve respect, because they protect society from anarchy, which could happen without established rights and norms.

For the murder of a police officer, Article 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for imprisonment for a term of 12 to 20 years with restriction of freedom for up to 2 years. If the murder was committed under aggravating circumstances, for example, by a group of people or with extreme cruelty, then the punishment may be the most severe. Previously, even the death penalty was implied for the murder of a soldier or policeman, but due to the moratorium on this sanction, it is replaced by life imprisonment.

Aggravating and mitigating circumstances

The court, when sentencing a defendant for assaulting a police officer, among other things, considers and takes into account a number of circumstances that affect the severity of the sentence. They are enshrined in Art. 61 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Circumstances mitigating punishment”, Art. 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Aggravating circumstances”.

In relation to an attack on a police officer while on duty, the following can be considered mitigating circumstances:

the minor age of the attacker;
pregnancy;
presence of young dependent children;
confession;
on-site assistance to the victim (medical and other);
compensation for material and moral damage to the police officer who suffered from the attack.

The court may recognize other circumstances as mitigating punishment.

Aggravates the punishment of committing a crime:

repeatedly;
among a group of persons;
due to hostility (political, ideological, national, etc.);
with excessive cruelty, sadism and bullying;
in emergency situations (emergency, state of emergency, war, etc.);
in a state of intoxication with alcohol or drugs.

Arbitrage practice

Judicial practice in cases of assault on a police officer during execution demonstrates:

variety of types of illegal actions, responsibility for which is enshrined in Art. 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation;
circumstances that are taken into account when considering cases of attacks on officers of the law during execution.

Let's give a few examples.

Example #1

Citizen P., in the room for compiling administrative materials in the police department building, while intoxicated, attacked police officer K., during which he deliberately punched the latter twice in the head. At the same time, citizen P. realized that K. was on duty. By his actions, P. caused K. physical pain.

The court considered the fact that he was intoxicated at the time of the attack on the policeman as a circumstance aggravating the punishment of the perpetrator.

The court recognized the following as mitigating circumstances:

no criminal record;
admission of guilt;
repentance for what he has done;
providing assistance to investigative authorities;
citizen P. has a state award.

Defendant P. was sentenced to 6 months in prison.

Example No. 2

Citizen O., driving a truck, realizing that a police officer in uniform was standing in front of him on the roadway, who was on duty, deliberately, protesting the lawful actions of traffic police inspector V., hit him with the front part of the car. By his actions, citizen O. caused the policeman pain and moral suffering.

The court included the following as mitigating circumstances:

admission of guilt and repentance for what has been done;
confession;
presence of a dependent young child of citizen O.

The court did not reveal any circumstances aggravating O.'s punishment. The defendant was sentenced to a fine of 15,000 rubles.

Example No. 3

Citizens I., Sh. and D., not wanting to fulfill the lawful demands of the police officers A. and V., and to stop the violation of public order, attacked the police officers, during which they struck several blows to the head of A. and V. each . By their actions, the attackers caused physical pain to the police. The defendants did not admit guilt of deliberately attacking police officers during execution.

The court considered the following circumstances mitigating their punishment:

no criminal record;
young age;
positive characteristics;
the health status of their parents.

The court recognized the pregnancy of his partner as a circumstance mitigating the punishment of citizen Sh. The court did not identify any aggravating circumstances.

All three were found guilty of committing a crime under Part 1 of Art. 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Citizens I. and Sh. were sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 9 months, and defendant D. - to a term of 8 months.

We recommend reading! Citizens' appeals to the Ministry of Internal Affairs: procedure and terms of consideration, recommendations. About this here.

Migrants are already beating the police!

According to the Russian Strategy website, drunken Uzbeks beat two policemen in Vyborg. Four police officers on the night of December 2 went to the address where trade in illegal alcohol was recorded at a late hour. When the act was already being drawn up, six natives of Central Asia entered the store wanting to buy alcohol at night. The answer that the store was closed did not suit the migrant workers; after a verbal altercation, a fight began, during which Major Lugovoi’s face was broken, and Major Utkin was hit several times from the back in the back of the head. "Fontanka. Ru” clarifies that “the police won, even without the use of service weapons.” Six attackers have been detained. All of them are from Uzbekistan. A criminal case is being prepared to initiate under the article on the use of violence against government officials.

As for the non-use of service weapons by law enforcement officers, however, a question arises. It seems that the police should have acted more harshly and prevented the beating of employees. Immediately after the first aggressive physical action, and even more so an attack on a law enforcement officer, weapons should be used. It’s good that in this case we were lucky, two police majors received, let’s say, moderate injuries. But in another situation, the attackers can shoot, poke with knives, hit the head with sticks, and strike with their hands and feet, leading to serious consequences for the health of the victims and law enforcement officers. How many such examples!

However, the main thing is that the villains were detained. Now they need to be adequately punished. I really want to hope that this time the intervention of the head of the Investigative Committee A.I. will not be required. Bastrykina. And as we know, on the ground, regional and local authorities, as well as territorial divisions of law enforcement agencies, are very susceptible to the pressure and influence of local diasporas, who use various methods, including corruption, to get rid of their fellow tribesmen.

Let me remind you of just one example. In the village of Moshkovo near Novosibirsk in June of this year, after an attack on him, a policeman accidentally fatally wounded an Azerbaijani who, in a group of violators, resisted traffic police officers. Enraged activists from the local Azerbaijani diaspora the next day threatened to kill the family of the traffic police inspector, 60 (or more?) Azerbaijanis, many of whom were armed, besieged the local police station, demanding to hand over the policeman responsible for the death of their fellow tribesman. The wife of traffic police officer Alexander Gusev was forced to cry out for help. Thus, she reported that her family received physical threats. And, as he noted, “it’s a good thing,” Bastrykin intervened.

Local investigators, who had previously “closed” the policeman under pressure from the Azerbaijanis, on instructions from the chairman of the Investigative Committee, released the traffic police officer from custody. Measures were immediately taken to ensure the safety of his family. Moreover, as it should have been initially, checks were carried out on the “activities” of some representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora. What prevented you from immediately, without Bastrykin’s special instructions, from carrying this out? The last question is rhetorical, the answer to it is well known to everyone.

I would really like for this to never happen again, either in Moshkovo, or in Vyborg, or in any other cities and villages of Russia. We need to put things in order. Strict and adequate punishment of criminals is an edification to all other potential villains.

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