The Democratically-held Virginia State Senate passed a bill that would allow the assault of a police officer to be treated as a misdemeanor.
The bill, which passed by a margin of 21-15, allows “an assault against a law enforcement officer to [be reduced to] a misdemeanor if the person attacked is not hurt,” according to WSLS Virginia.
The bill also removes the mandatory minimum six-month jail sentence for assaulting a police officer that is currently law in Virginia.
“Democrats said the legislation does not minimize the crime of assaulting a police officer, but instead makes a distinction between serious assaults and minor assaults,” the Associated Press wrote. “The bill keeps the charge as a felony, but gives a judge or jury discretion to reduce it to a misdemeanor if there is no bodily injury or if someone’s culpability is slight because of diminished capacity or a developmental disorder.”