(a) It is an offense for a person to knowingly activate and point a laser pointer or other device utilizing a laser beam at an individual known to be a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician or other emergency service personnel while the individual is in the performance of the individual’s official duties, with the intent to place the individual in fear of serious bodily injury or death.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
criminal case

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-16-515

  • Bodily injury: includes a cut, abrasion, bruise, burn or disfigurement, and physical pain or temporary illness or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Defendant: means a person accused of an offense under this title and includes any person who aids or abets the commission of such offense. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Law enforcement officer: includes a sheriff, sheriff's deputy, and, only for purposes of the enhancement of a crime, a deputy jailer. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Serious bodily injury: means bodily injury that involves:
    (A) A substantial risk of death. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
(b) In order for subsection (a) to apply:

(1) The law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, or other emergency service personnel must actually be placed in fear of serious bodily injury or death;
(2) The fear must be real or honestly believed to be real at the time; and
(3) Based upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the defendant‘s conduct, the fear must be founded upon reasonable grounds.
(c) It is an offense for a person to knowingly shine or aim a light, laser, horn, or other mechanism towards the head of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, or other emergency service personnel while the individual is in the performance of the individual’s official duties with intent to cause bodily injury.
(d)

(1) A violation of subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor.
(2) A violation of subsection (c) is a Class A misdemeanor, and includes a mandatory fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000) and a mandatory minimum sentence of thirty (30) days incarceration. The defendant shall not be eligible for release from confinement until the defendant has served the entire thirty-day mandatory minimum sentence.
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