Opinion ID: 1107651
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer (BOLEO)

Text: Under the Florida Statutes, battery is a crime, but it is not always a felony. Two battery statutes are relevant in this case: simple battery, section 784.03, Florida Statutes (2006), and battery on a law enforcement officer, section 784.07, Florida Statutes (2006). The simple battery statute provides: (1)(a) The offense of battery occurs when a person: 1. Actually and intentionally touches or strikes another person against the will of the other; or 2. Intentionally causes bodily harm to another person. (b) Except as provided in subsection (2), a person who commits battery commits a misdemeanor of the first degree. § 784.03(1), Fla. Stat. (2006). [2] As can be seen, subsections (1)(a)(1) and (1)(a)(2) describe two distinct levels of force. This distinction is usually irrelevant because the offense is complete regardless of which subsection applies. The difference acquires meaning, however, in the context of VCC sentencing. When simple battery is committed on a law enforcement officer, it becomes the separate offense of battery on a law enforcement officer, or BOLEO. The BOLEO statute converts the crime from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony: Whenever any person is charged with knowingly committing an assault or battery upon a law enforcement officer . . . the offense for which the person is charged shall be reclassified as follows: . . . (b) in the case of battery, from a misdemeanor of the first degree to a felony of the third degree. § 784.07(2)(b) (emphasis added). The underlying conduct required for simple battery and BOLEO is identical. The only differences are the status of the victim and the penalty imposed.