Disarming a peace officer defense attorney - Wis. Stat. 941.21
Contact Van Severen Law Office to discuss your disarming a peace officer case – (414) 270-0202
Disarming a peace officer is a serious felony in Wisconsin. Classified as a Class H felony, this charge carries a maximum penalty of 6 years in prison, a $10,000.00 fine, or both. Charges like this usually start as something lower-level, such as obstructing an officer, and quickly escalate to a felony-level situation. It’s important to remember that escalating a situation, especially by doing something such as taking a peace officer’s weapon, makes those situations incredibly dangerous. Prosecutors fight these charges aggressively, and it’s important to hire equally aggressive criminal defense lawyers.
You’ll meet some of Wisconsin’s best criminal defense lawyers at Van Severen Law Office, S.C. Our aggressive criminal defense attorneys know how to fight felony charges just like this. We fight many felony-level criminal charges at trial. Our firm stands ready to fight disarming a peace officer charges for our clients.
For a free consultation, contact our criminal defense law firm at (414) 270-0202.
What is disarming a peace officer? Wis. Stat. 941.21
Disarming a peace officer. Whoever intentionally disarms a peace officer who is acting in his or her official capacity by taking a dangerous weapon or a device or container described under s. 941.26 (1g) (b) or (4) (a) from the officer without his or her consent is guilty of a Class H felony. This section applies to any dangerous weapon or any device or container described under s. 941.26 (1g) (b) or (4) (a) that the officer is carrying or that is in an area within the officer’s immediate presence.
The “devices or container” include pepper spray, or a “tear gas bomb, hand grenade, projectile or shell or any other container of any kind or character into which tear gas or any similar substance is used or placed for use to cause bodily discomfort, panic, or damage to property.” Disarming refers to taking the weapon from the officer himself, or taking the weapon from an area immediately within the officer’s presence.
Section 939.22(22) of the Wisconsin Statutes defines peace officer. Peace officer “means any person vested by law to maintain public order or to make arrests for crime, whether that duty extends to all crimes or is limited to specific crimes. ‘Peace officer’ includes a commission warden and a university police officer…” A peace officer acts in an “official capacity” when that officer performed acts that they are employed to perform.
Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instruction 1328
At trial the district attorney must show five separate elements:
Firstly, the victim was a peace officer;
Secondly, the victim was acting in an official capacity;
Thirdly, the defendant disarmed the victim by taking a dangerous weapon from him;
Fourthly, the victim did not consent to the taking of the dangerous weapon; and
And finally, the defendant intentionally committed the acts.
Elements are certainly important when trying to understand a criminal charge. On their face, elements just look like parts of a crime. But more importantly, they’re actually the parts that the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. If we can show that the government falters in that pursuit, or that there’s a reasonable doubt you satisfied element, the court must find you not guilty.
All police officers are peace officers, but not all peace officers are police. Disarming a peace officer is a felony in Wisconsin. Contact criminal defense law firm Van Severen Law Office, S.C. immediately for help: (414) 270-0202.
What can Van Severen Law Office do for me?
If you’ve been charged with disarming a peace officer, you deserve proper representation from an experienced criminal defense attorney. At criminal defense law firm Van Severen Law Office we focus on your entire case. Do we have any pre-trial motions that can be filed? What kind of investigation can we do prior to trial? What is the client’s goal with representation? You have enough to worry about after being charged with a crime. You shouldn’t need to worry about your attorney.
Our practice focuses 100% on criminal defense so you don’t need to worry about our level of expertise. We work hard to achieve the best possible results for all of our clients. If you’d like to discuss your defense with us, contact Van Severen Law Office at (414) 270-0202.
