Have you been arrested or investigated for assault on authority? Here’s what you need to know
In Spain, thousands of criminal proceedings are opened each year for assaults, resistance, or threats against police officers, civil guards, and other public agents. In 2024 alone, the Ministry of the Interior recorded more than 16,878 police actions related to altercations against agents on duty.
What is the crime of assault on authority?
Article 550 of the Criminal Code establishes that anyone who assaults, seriously intimidates, or resists with serious violence an authority, agent, or public official while they are performing their duties or on occasion of them commits a crime of assault.
Additionally, educational and healthcare personnel are expressly included as protected subjects when performing their duties.
The legally protected interest in this crime is the proper functioning of public administration and the dignity of those who represent it. It protects the principle of authority, meaning that agents and officials can perform their duties without being subjected to violence or intimidation.
This crime does not require causing actual injury or damage. It is sufficient that there exists an assault
What can happen to you for assaulting an authority figure?
What can happen to me for hitting a Police Officer?
What is a public official without authority rank?
It is any person who exercises public functions, but without command authority or exercise of authority.
Examples:
- Postal workers or public administration officials.
- Healthcare personnel in the public system (doctors, nurses).
- Teachers in public educational centers.
These are also protected by article 550 if they are assaulted in the performance of their duties or on occasion thereof, but the penalty is lesser than if it involves a true authority.
And what are law enforcement agents?
They are persons who, without being authority per se, act by direct delegation or immediate subordination to authority, exercising public functions.
Examples:
- Local, regional or national police officers in operational duties.
- Civil guards on patrol, checkpoints or arrests.
- Prison guards.
Although they are not always authority in the strict sense, article 550.1 CP protects them equally, and assaulting them may be punished as a crime of assault on authority.
And who has the category of authority?
According to article 24 of the Criminal Code, authorities are:
«Those who by themselves or as me
Have you been arrested for assaulting an officer?
Do you need an expert attorney for crimes against authority?
What types of situations can give rise to the crime of assault against authority?
Attacks with force or violence
The concept of attack, according to repeated case law of the Supreme Court, encompasses any action that involves the use of force or direct aggression against the active subject of authority. Case law considers any direct physical attack as assault: punches, kicks, pushes, blows with objects. Even if no actual damage is caused, the crime is completed if there is intent to assault or real danger is posed to the agent’s integrity.
For example, the following have been considered assault:
- Hitting a police officer on duty with the hand or an object.
- Ramming an agent with a vehicle to flee from a checkpoint.
- Striking a helmet with nails that left visible marks.
The law does not require that the attack be successful or that an injury be caused. The aggressive action alone is sufficient for article 550 to apply.
Serious resistance
Serious resistance can also constitute a crime of assault, provided that it is active and with sufficient physical violence.
This differs from passive or minor resistance, which is punished as a minor crime of disobedience (art. 556 CP).
Case law establishes that there is serious resistance when the person physically confronts in an active manner the legitimate action of the agents
Abogado penalista en Madrid (Graduado en Derecho y ADE con Máster de Acceso a la Abogacía), experto en procedimientos complejos y técnicos en Derecho Penal. Cuenta con títulos como el Curso de DerechoPenal Avanzado impartido por magistrados del Tribunal Supremo en el Iltre. Colegio de Abogacía de Madrid.