Virginia’s Democratic Senate passed legislation Wednesday reducing penalties for assaulting police officers by allowing judges discretion to diminish charges from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Though the bill maintains that such aggression be charged as a felony, judges under the law would be empowered to distinguish between minor and serious assaults while also eliminating the six-month mandatory minimum prison sentence for convictions.
According to the Loudoun Times, the bill passed despite Republican objections that the bill would minimize acts of terror targeted at police as law enforcement units nationwide bear the brunt of historic animosity and anarchic calls to defund their departments. Several local governments have already opted to either completely dismantle their law enforcement agencies such as Minneapolis where rioting erupted again Wednesday, or to axe funding to redirect it to other programs. New York City cut $1 billion from its police budget earlier this year.
The Virginia Senate’s bill will now move to the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates. Their decision comes while scores of police officers have come under attack sustaining serious injuries across the country. Militant demonstrators have launched mortar-style fireworks at sworn agents of public defense and beamed lasers that can cause permanent blindness.
