South Australian Current Acts

CRIMINAL LAW CONSOLIDATION ACT 1935 - SECT 29A

29A—Shooting at police officers

        (1)         A person who—

            (a)         discharges a firearm—

                  (i)         intending to hit a police officer with shot, or a bullet or other projectile, fired from the firearm; or

                  (ii)         being reckless as to whether a police officer is hit with shot, or a bullet or other projectile, fired from the firearm; and

            (b)         by that conduct, causes serious harm to the police officer,

is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 25 years.

        (2)         If, however, the victim in a particular case suffers such serious harm that a penalty exceeding the maximum prescribed in subsection (1) is warranted, the court may, on application by the Director of Public Prosecutions, impose a penalty exceeding the prescribed maximum.

        (3)         In proceedings for an offence against subsection (1), it is not necessary for the prosecution to establish that the defendant intended to cause serious harm to a police officer.

        (4)         A person who discharges a firearm—

            (a)         intending to hit a police officer with shot, or a bullet or other projectile, fired from the firearm; or

            (b)         being reckless as to whether a police officer is hit with shot, or a bullet or other projectile, fired from the firearm,

is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.

        (5)         If—

            (a)         a jury is not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a charge of an offence against this section has been established; but

            (b)         the Judge has instructed the jury that it is open to the jury on the evidence to find the defendant guilty of a specified lesser offence or any 1 of a number of specified lesser offences; and

            (c)         the jury is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the specified lesser offence, or a particular 1 of the specified lesser offences, has been established,

the jury may return a verdict that the defendant is not guilty of the offence charged but is guilty of the lesser offence.

        (6)         In this section—

"reckless"—a person is reckless as to whether a police officer is hit with shot, or a bullet or other projectile, fired from a firearm discharged by the person if the person—

            (a)         is aware of a substantial risk that a police officer could be hit with shot, or a bullet or other projectile, fired from the firearm; and

            (b)         discharges the firearm despite the risk and without adequate justification.