City of Union, MO Article II Offenses Against Persons

Section 215.020 Assault.

[R.O. 2012 §215.020; CC 1992 §13-5; Ord. No. 1633, 4-11-1983]

A. A person commits the offense of assault if:

1. He/she attempts to cause or recklessly causes physical injury to another person;

2. With criminal negligence he/she causes physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon;

3. He/she purposely places another person in apprehension of immediate physical injury;

4. He/she recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death or serious physical injury to another person;

5. He/she knowingly causes physical contact with another person knowing the other person will regard the contact as offensive or provocative; or

6. The person knowingly causes physical contact with an incapacitated person, as defined in Section 475.010, RSMo., which a reasonable person, who is not incapacitated, would consider offensive or provocative.

Section 215.030 Consent by Victim as Defense.

[R.O. 2012 §215.030; CC 1992 §13-6; Ord. No. 1633, 4-11-1983]

A. When conduct is charged to constitute an offense because it causes or threatens physical injury, consent to that conduct or to the infliction of the injury is a defense only if:

1. The physical injury consented to or threatened by the conduct is not serious physical injury;

2. The conduct and the harm are reasonably foreseeable hazards of:

a. The victim's occupation or profession; or

b. Joint participation in a lawful athletic contest; or

3. The consent establishes a justification for the conduct under Ch. 563, RSMo.

B. The defendant shall have the burden of injecting the issue of consent.

Section 215.040 Harassment. [1]

A. A person commits the offense of harassment if he or she:

1. Knowingly communicates a threat to commit any felony to another person and in so doing frightens, intimidates, or causes emotional distress to such other person; or

2. When communicating with another person, knowingly uses coarse language offensive to one of average sensibility and thereby puts such person in reasonable apprehension of offensive physical contact or harm; or

3. Knowingly frightens, intimidates, or causes emotional distress to another person by anonymously making a telephone call or any electronic communication; or

4. Knowingly communicates with another person who is, or who purports to be, seventeen (17) years of age or younger and in so doing and without good cause recklessly frightens, intimidates, or causes emotional distress to such other person; or

5. Knowingly makes repeated unwanted communication to another person; or

6. Without good cause engages in any other act with the purpose to frighten, intimidate, or cause emotional distress to another person, cause such person to be frightened, intimidated, or emotionally distressed, and such person's response to the act is one of a person of average sensibilities considering the age of such person.

B. Harassment is an ordinance violation unless:

1. Committed by a person twenty-one (21) years of age or older against a person seventeen (17) years of age or younger; or

2. The person has previously pleaded guilty to or been found guilty of a violation of this Section, or of any offense committed in violation of any County or Municipal ordinance in any State, any State law, any Federal law, or any military law which, if committed in this State, would be chargeable or indictable as a violation of any offense listed in this Subsection.

C. This Section shall not apply to activities of Federal, State, County, or Municipal Law Enforcement Officers conducting investigations of violation of Federal, State, County, or Municipal law.

[1] Note — Under certain circumstances this offense can be a felony under state law.

Section 215.045 Endangerment of a Highway Worker and Aggravated Endangerment of a Highway Worker.

[R.O. 2012 §215.045; Ord. No. 3479 §4, 8-10-2009]

A. A person shall be deemed to commit the offense of "endangerment of a highway worker" upon conviction for any of the following when the offense occurs within a construction zone or work zone as defined in Section 340.230(F) of the City of Union Code of Ordinances:

1. Exceeding the posted speed limit by fifteen (15) miles per hour or more;

2. Passing in violation of Subsection (D) of Section 340.230 of the City of Union Code of Ordinances;

3. Failure to stop for a work zone flagman or failure to obey traffic control devices erected in the construction zone or work zone for purposes of controlling the flow of motor vehicles through the zone;

4. Driving through or around a work zone by any lane not clearly designated to motorists for the flow of traffic through or around the work zone;

5. Physically assaulting, or attempting to assault, or threatening to assault a highway worker in a construction zone or work zone with a motor vehicle or other instrument;

6. Intentionally striking, moving or altering barrels, barriers, signs or other devices erected to control the flow of traffic to protect workers and motorists in the work zone for a reason other than avoidance of an obstacle, an emergency, or to protect the health and safety of an occupant of the motor vehicle or of another person; or

7. Committing any of the following offenses for which points may be assessed under Section 302.302, RSMo.;

a. Leaving the scene of an accident in violation of Section 310.060, of the City of Union Code of Ordinances;

b. Careless and imprudent driving in violation of Section 320.040 of the City of Union Code of Ordinances;

c. Operating without a valid license in violation of Section 390.020 of the City of Union Code of Ordinances;

d. Operating with a suspended or revoked license;

e. Driving while in an intoxicated condition or under the influence of controlled substances or drugs or driving with an excessive blood alcohol content;

f. Any felony involving the use of a motor vehicle.

B. Upon conviction or a plea of guilty for committing the offense of endangerment of a highway worker under Subsection (A) of this Section, if no injury or death to a highway worker resulted from the offense, in addition to any other penalty authorized by law, the person shall be subject to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).

C. A person shall be deemed to commit the offense of "aggravated endangerment of a highway worker" upon conviction or a plea of guilty for any offense under Subsection (A) of this Section when such offense occurs in a construction zone or work zone as defined in Section 340.230(F) of the City of Union Code of Ordinances and results in the injury or death of a highway worker. Upon conviction or a plea of guilty for committing the offense of aggravated endangerment of a highway worker, in addition to any other penalty authorized by law, the person shall be subject to a jail term of not less than five (5) days and not more than ninety (90) days and a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).

D. Except for the offense established under Subdivision (6) of Subsection (A) of this Section, no person shall be deemed to commit the offense of endangerment of a highway worker except when the act or omission constituting the offense occurred when one (1) or more highway workers were in the construction zone or work zone.

E. No person shall be cited or convicted for endangerment of a highway worker or aggravated endangerment of a highway worker for any act or omission otherwise constituting an offense under Subsection (A) of this Section, if such act or omission resulted in whole or in part from mechanical failure of the person's vehicle or from the negligence of another person or a highway worker.