Assault on an emergency medical technician.

Existing law makes it a crime and specifies terms of imprisonment for assault on a peace officer or firefighter when the person knows or reasonably should know that the person is a peace officer or firefighter engaged in the performance of his or her duties. Existing law specifies various terms of imprisonment depending on whether the assault was committed with a deadly weapon that is not a firearm, a firearm, or one of a specified type of firearm, including machineguns and assault weapons. This bill would make these provisions applicable to an assault on an emergency medical technician when the person knows or reasonably should know that the person is an emergency medical technician engaged in the performance of his or her duties. By increasing the penalty for a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.