I’m going to answer these questions from the perspective of Oklahoma criminal law because that’s what I work with daily. I will also give the caveat that the particulars of criminal law vary from state to state…sometimes greatly so.
Re “violent crimes”: 57 OS 157 provides a list of “violent crimes” (all felonies) under Oklahoma law. It also states that any other felony is deemed a non-violent crime. The list is quite long (too long to cut and paste), but you can look at it on Oscn.net.
The only arguably “property crime” listed as violent is 1st degree arson. That is basically setting fire to a building that is occupied at the time you torch it. All other “property crimes” are non-violent and will be a misdemeanor or felony depending upon on the amount of damage done and the property damaged and how the damage was done.
Re: spitting on an officer. Lots of nuanced, fact specific options here. It’s a non-violent felony to spit upon a peace officer or correctional officer WHEN YOU ARE IN THEIR CUSTODY. There is also intentional attempting to infect or infecting someone with a communicable disease. Which is a non-violent felony.
Unless I can prove all of the special elements of the felony crimes, one random dude spitting on another random dude is a simple assault and battery which is a misdemeanor. Spitting AT, but not on some random dude is a simple assault.
If the person spat AT, but not upon, is a peace officer and the spitter knows that, you’d have assault on a peace officer. That’s a misdemeanor.
If the person spat UPON is a peace officer and the spitter knows that his victim is a peace officer, you could (probably do have) assault and battery on a peace officer. A&B on a peace officer can be punished as a misdemeanor or a felony at the discretion of the prosecutor. I usually file A&B on a PO as a misdemeanor if the officer received no injuries and as a felony if they received any injury at all. Felony A&B on a peace officer is also a non-violent crime under Oklahoma law.
Let's ask
@CowboyJD
If a citizen spits at or on one of your police officers, then kicks the taillight out of the department vehicle that they're driving and is arrested, do you opt in or out of prosecuting them for it?
I’m gonna prosecute it for sure. Exactly what I charge is going to be dependent upon a number of factors like whether the officer was injured, whether the suspect/defendant was in custody at the time he spat on the officer, the amount of damage done to the vehicle and the nature of the evidence and how strong it is. If the person was not in custody at the time he spit on the officer, the most likely charges would be misdemeanor A&B on a PO, and misdemeanor malicious destruction of property.
Spitting on a person is assault with bodily fluids (this could also depend on disease status), so I would tend to think that would cross into violent territory. I'm not a lawyer, nor did I sleep in a Holiday Inn last night, so I am going to defer to
@CowboyJD on that one. But I would consider spitting on someone more serious than property damage.
See above. Assault with bodily fluids is not on the list of violent crimes in Oklahoma law.
Seems like intended violence to me, as does following it up with kicking the vehicle. I think there is a difference between intentional and accidental property damage, but I didn't sleep at the Inn last night either.
There is a difference between intentional and accidental property damage. Primarily intentional property damage is criminal and accidental is a civil issue. Leaving the scene of accidental property damage (caused by a vehicle) is also a misdemeanor crime.
Hope that answers all the questions. This concludes my legal class for the day. Now I’m going to go binge season 4 of Bridgerton and call it a night on further questions.
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