Criminal penalty for assaulting a firefighter, EMS personnel, or certain health care providers increased.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Elliott Engen and 1 co-sponsor

The bill increases criminal penalties for assaults on firefighters, EMS personnel, and certain health care workers while they are performing duties.

Author added Huot

#crimesandcriminals #emergencyand911services #publicsafetydepartment

Purpose and intent

HF 810 seeks to enhance criminal penalties for individuals who assault certain frontline responders, specifically firefighters, emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, and certain health care providers. The bill aims to increase accountability and protection for those who perform high-risk emergency and care duties in Minnesota.

Key provisions and changes

Targeted offenses: The amendments apply to assaults perpetrated against:

Firefighters
EMS personnel
Certain health care providers (as defined by the bill)

Penalty enhancement: The bill increases the criminal penalties for assaults against the above groups. While the exact sentencing tiers are not provided in the summary, the intent is to elevate consequences beyond standard assault penalties for these protected individuals.

Scope of protected persons: The protected status extends to individuals performing duties in their professional capacity as firefighters, EMS personnel, or designated health care workers, likely including those responding to emergencies or working in clinical settings.

Definitions and applicability: The bill would define the relevant roles (firefighters, EMS personnel, health care providers) and clarify when an assault qualifies for the enhanced penalties (e.g., while the defender is performing official duties or responding to emergencies).

Who would be affected

Individuals who commit assaults against:

Firefighters
EMS personnel
Certain health care providers

The enhanced penalties could apply regardless of the setting (on-duty at the scene, in transit, or within care facilities) if the assault involves someone in the protected roles during performance of duties.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Introduction and referral: Introduced and referred to the Public Safety Finance and Policy committee on February 17, 2025.

Author and sponsorship: Author added (Rep. Huot) on March 5, 2025. Co-sponsors include Rep. John Huot and Rep. Elliott Engen.

Next steps (typical in Minnesota process): If advanced, the bill would go through committee hearings, possible amendments, and votes in the House, and then move to the Senate with parallel consideration of a companion bill or identical language. Timeline would depend on committee actions and floor votes.

Practical impact and considerations

Potentially higher sentencing guidelines for assaults on frontline responders could affect deterrence, prosecutors’ charging decisions, and victims’ safety perceptions.

Agencies employing firefighters, EMS personnel, and health care workers may see changes in incident reporting and case processing to align with the enhanced penalties.

The bill’s exact penalty amounts, felony classifications, mandatory minimums (if any), and exceptions (e.g., self-defense or mutual combat) are not specified in the provided summary and would be defined in the full text.

If you’d like, I can pull the bill’s exact statutory language or provide a comparison with current Minnesota statutes to highlight specific changes.

Bill