To repeal section 565.081, RSMo 1994, relating to assaults against law enforcement officers, and to enact one new section relating to the same subject, with penalty provisions.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

     Section A. Section 565.081, RSMo 1994, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 565.081, to read as follows:

     565.081. 1. A person commits the crime of assault of a law enforcement officer in the first degree if he attempts to kill or knowingly causes or attempts to cause serious physical injury to a law enforcement officer.

     2. Assault of a law enforcement officer in the first degree is a class A felony, and the punishment shall be imprisonment for life without eligibility for probation, parole or release except by act of the governor.