Nov. 03, 2022
HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania police officers now have a new level of protection if assaulted with bodily fluids after Gov. Tom Wolf signed
House Bill 103 into law, Rep. Lou Schmitt (R-Blair) said.
Act 99 of 2022, formerly Schmitt’s House Bill 103, makes it a criminal offense to assault a police officer with bodily fluids, such as saliva. The law outlines an assault must be deliberate, rather than a case of accidental spitting that could occur during a heated exchange.
“This is a great day for police officers who now have further remedies if assaulted with bodily fluids, such as spit,” Schmitt said. “When an officer is spit on, for example when making an arrest, it is typically to cause harm by, at the very least, making the officer think he or she could have just been infected with a disease.”
Typically, when officers are assaulted with spit or bodily fluids, they must undergo medical testing to see if they contracted a virus, such as HIV. Such assaults take police officers off the street, preventing them from fully doing their jobs and protecting people in their communities.
Schmitt’s bill is the result of numerous police officers reaching out to him about continually being under the barrage of bodily fluid assaults with no recourse.
“I’m very pleased criminals will no longer be able to spit in the face of law enforcement with impunity,” Schmitt said.
The law takes effect in 60 days.