Assaulting police officers brings jail in Virginia, regardless of how unforceful the touching, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Assaulting police officers in Virginia has for the longest time been a Class 6 felony jailable for a mandatory minimum of six months in jail. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I regret that proposals thus far to ameliorate this harshness have not yet come to statuory fruition, to at least address the circumstances where the innocent are convicted (for instance accidentally touching a police officer out of involuntary reflex) or where a drunk person touches a police officer with a finger on the shoulder or hugs a law enforcement officer (LEO) with no intention of causing physical harm. The foregoing list extends beyond LEOs to include: “If any person commits an assault or an assault and battery against another knowing or having reason to know that such other person is a judge, a magistrate, a law-enforcement officer as defined in subsection H, a correctional officer as defined in § 53.1-1… engaged in the performance of his public duties anywhere in the Commonwealth, such person is guilty of a Class 6 felony, and, upon conviction, the sentence of such person shall include a mandatory minimum term of confinement of six months.” Virginia Code § 18.2-57.

Overcover risk by avoiding accidentally touching a police officer

The courtrooms hallways outside the courtrooms in the Fairfax County courthouse and many other courthouses can get very full at peak hours, including with police officers. This is all the more reason for civilians at these courthouses to be stone sober (including being toke-free) and full awake so as not to accidentally bump into an LEO, including when opening up a courtroom door, lest there be a police officer on the other side. Quite frankly, I was stunned when I saw a crimina defense lawyer one day playfully lightly swat a police on the butt and saying “He did not even flinch.” That risked an assaulting prosecution and conviction and a minimum six months in the slammer. Even the criminal defense lawyer who was talking with an LEO with his hands and friendly touching him on the forearm risked an unfriendly result. Yes, I am talking of overcovering risk here, just as I talk about overcovering risk against prosecution and conviction in such other scenarios as not getting behind the wheel within twenty-four hours of consuming beer, wine or alcohol, to reduce the chance of a Virginia DWI conviction.

Even spitting onto a police officer’s clothing can bring a Virginia assaulting an LEO conviction

Even spitting onto a police officer’s clothing can bring a Virginia assaulting an LEO conviction: “‘To sustain a conviction for battery, the Commonwealth must prove a “wil[l]ful or unlawful touching” of another.’… ‘At common law, any touching “in anger, without lawful provocation,” however slight, including “spitting in a man’s face,” was sufficient to support a battery conviction.’… ‘Whether a touching is a battery depends on the intent of the actor, not on the force applied.’… ‘[T]he slightest touching of another . . . if done in a rude, insolent or
angry manner, constitutes a battery for which the law affords redress.'” Cogdell v. Commonwealth of Virginia, Record No. 0718-24-1 (Va. App. Sept. 16, 2025) (Unpublished) (citations omitted). Because a Virginia assault conviction can come from even a slight but rude touching of another, the Virginia lawyer who playfully and lightly swatted a police officer’s buttocks was cruising for a potential six months mandatory minimum conviction bruising, regardless of the risk of being prosecuted. Clearly the many who threw a submarine sandwich at a federal law enforcement agent in opposition to enhanced LEO presence in the nation’s capital would in Virginia have easily been subject to such a conviction and mandatory minimum sentence.

What should I do if prosecuted for an alleged Fairfax assault or for assault elsewhere in the Commonwealth of Virginia?

A conviction for assaulting another is a scarlet letter. If charged with assault, battery or both in the commonwealth, timely consult with a qualified Virginia criminal defense lawyer about your questions, your defenses, trial strategy and preparation, the option to purse a satisfaction and discharge / accord and satisfation dismissal when a police officer and domestic assault are not allegedly involved (nd the dubious prize of a suspended imposition of sentence for a domestic assault guilty finding), and collateral risks from an assault conviction (including to security clearances, career and immigration status.)  Choose your Fairfax criminal lawyer / Virginia assault attorney wisely. Ask about your lawyer’s assault defense experience, trial ability and experience, ideas for your defenses, and devotion to you and your cause, as to defenses, reducing sentencing risk if convicted, and the appeal route if needed.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz relentlessly pursues your best possible defense against Virginia felony, misdemeanor and DUI prosecutions. Your free in-person confidential consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending prosecution starts your path to a great defense. Usually Jon can meet with you within a business day of your contacting us for an appointment at703-383-1100, Info@Katzjustice.com and (text) 571-406-7268.