KRS § 508.025 — KY Code / Title L / Chapter 508 / Section 508.025
508.025 Assault in the third degree
Status: in_force

508.025 Assault in the third degree.

(1) A person is guilty of assault in the third degree when the actor:

(a) Recklessly, with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or intentionally

causes or attempts to cause physical injury to:

1. A state, county, city, or federal peace officer;

2. An employee of a detention facility, or state residential treatment facility

or state staff secure facility for residential treatment which provides for

the care, treatment, or detention of a juvenile charged with or

adjudicated delinquent because of a public offense or as a youthful

offender;

3. A healthcare provider as defined in KRS 311.821 or other person

employed by or under contract with a health clinic, doctor's office,

dental office, long-term care facility, hospital, or a hospital-owned or

affiliate outpatient facility, if the event occurs in or on the premises of a

health clinic, doctor's office, dental office, long-term care facility,

hospital, or a hospital-owned or affiliate outpatient facility;

4. An employee of the Department for Community Based Services

employed as a social worker to provide direct client services, if the

event occurs while the worker is performing job-related duties;

5. Paid or volunteer emergency medical services personnel certified or

licensed pursuant to KRS Chapter 311A, if the event occurs while

personnel are performing job-related duties;

6. A paid or volunteer member of an organized fire department, if the

event occurs while the member is performing job-related duties;

7. Paid or volunteer rescue squad personnel affiliated with the Division of

Emergency Management of the Department of Military Affairs or a

local disaster and emergency services organization pursuant to KRS

Chapter 39F, if the event occurs while personnel are performing job-

related duties;

8. A probation and parole officer;

9. A transportation officer appointed by a county fiscal court or legislative

body of a consolidated local government, urban-county government, or

charter government to transport inmates when the county jail or county

correctional facility is closed while the transportation officer is

performing job-related duties;

10. A public or private elementary or secondary school or school district

classified or certified employee, school bus driver, or other school

employee acting in the course and scope of the employee's employment;

or

11. A public or private elementary or secondary school or school district

volunteer acting in the course and scope of that person's volunteer

service for the school or school district;

(b) Being a person confined in a detention facility, or a juvenile in a state

residential treatment facility or state staff secure facility for residential

treatment which provides for the care, treatment, or detention of a juvenile

charged with or adjudicated delinquent because of a public offense or as a

youthful offender, inflicts physical injury upon or throws or causes feces, or

urine, or other bodily fluid to be thrown upon an employee of the facility; or

(c) Intentionally causes a person, whom the actor knows or reasonably should

know to be a peace officer discharging official duties, to come into contact

with saliva, vomit, mucus, blood, seminal fluid, urine, or feces without the

consent of the peace officer.

(2) (a) For a violation of subsection (1)(a) of this section, assault in the third degree

is a Class D felony, unless the offense occurs during a declared emergency as

defined by KRS 39A.020 arising from a natural or man-made disaster, within

the area covered by the emergency declaration, and within the area impacted

by the disaster, in which case it is a Class C felony.

(b) For a violation of subsection (1)(b) of this section, assault in the third degree

is a Class D felony.

(c) For violations of subsection (1)(c) of this section, assault in the third degree is

a Class B misdemeanor, unless the assault is with saliva, vomit, mucus, blood,

seminal fluid, urine, or feces from an adult who knows that he or she has a

serious communicable disease and competent medical or epidemiological

evidence demonstrates that the specific type of contact caused by the actor is

likely to cause transmission of the disease or condition, in which case it is a

Class A misdemeanor.

(d) As used in paragraph (c) of this subsection, "serious communicable disease"

means a non-airborne disease that is transmitted from person to person and

determined to have significant, long-term consequences on the physical health

or life activities of the person infected.