§ 609.597 — Assaulting or Harming Police Horse; Penalties
Plain-Language Summary
It is a crime to intentionally assault, harm, or interfere with a horse being used by law enforcement. Penalties range from misdemeanor to felony depending on the severity.
609.597 ASSAULTING OR HARMING POLICE HORSE; PENALTIES.
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Subdivision 1.Definition.
As used in this section, “police horse” means a horse that has been trained for crowd control and other law enforcement purposes and is used to assist peace officers or reserve officers in the performance of their official duties. §
Subd. 2.Crime.
Whoever assaults or intentionally harms a police horse while the horse is being used or maintained for use by a law enforcement agency, or while under the control of a reserve officer who is operating at the direction of, under the control of, or on behalf of a peace officer or a law enforcement agency, is guilty of a crime and may be sentenced as provided in subdivision 3. §
Subd. 3.Penalties.
A person convicted of violating subdivision 2 may be sentenced as follows:
(1) if a peace officer, a reserve officer, or any other person suffers great bodily harm or death as a result of the violation, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both;
(2) if the police horse suffers death or great bodily harm as a result of the violation, or if a peace officer or a reserve officer suffers demonstrable bodily harm as a result of the violation, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than two years or to payment of a fine of not more than $4,000, or both;
(3) if the police horse suffers demonstrable bodily harm as a result of the violation, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year and one day or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both;
(4) if a peace officer or a reserve officer is involuntarily unseated from the police horse or any person, other than the peace officer or reserve officer, suffers demonstrable bodily harm as a result of the violation, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 364 days or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both;
(5) if a violation other than one described in clauses (1) to (4) occurs, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 90 days or to payment of a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.
History:
1995 c 179 s 1; 2004 c 228 art 1 s 72; 2011 c 85 s 3; 2023 c 52 art 6 s 16
History: History: 1995 c 179 s 1; 2004 c 228 art 1 s 72; 2011 c 85 s 3; 2023 c 52 art 6 s 16