The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard HB 1097 authored by Rep. Abbott regarding criminal penalties. The bill provides that a person who discharges a firearm in an unsafe manner and creates a substantial risk of bodily injury or death to a person or group of persons in the immediate vicinity of where the firearm is shot commits a Level 5 felony. The bill provides that a person who resists law enforcement by operating a vehicle in a manner that creates a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person commits a Level 5 felony. The bill also provides that a person who resists law enforcement by operating a vehicle in a manner that creates a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person or otherwise causes serious bodily injury to another person commits a Level 4 felony, if that person has a prior conviction for resisting law enforcement.
The bill was amended by consent to remove language regarding criminal recklessness with a firearm, remove the language, “creates a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person or otherwise,” and to make the bill effective upon passage.
The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council and a Fort Wayne police officer testified in support of the bill. The Indiana Public Defender Council testified in opposition. The amended bill passed 8-3.
Read the bill at: http://www.iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/house/1097