By Jack Richards
BATON ROUGE — The Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to remove the firearm requirement for a charge of aggravated assault of a police officer. In a separate action, it also made attacks against police, firefighters and EMT personnel hate crimes.
House bill 582, by Rep. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, would allow a district attorney to charge someone with the more serious aggravated assault count if the officer was attacked with, for example, a knife or machete. The bill now goes to the governor.
LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau 