Provides relative to battery (RE SEE FISC NOTE LF EX)

House Bill 132 expands the statutory definition of battery of a police officer under Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:34.2 to include the intentional directing of sound at a police officer in close proximity to the officer's ear or head when the sound is capable of causing physical pain, hearing impairment, or bodily injury and a reasonable person would foresee such harm. The bill defines close proximity as within three feet of the officer's ear or head or otherwise positioned to direct sound primarily at the officer's ear or head at similarly close range, and defines directing of sound as aiming, positioning, or intentionally generating sound focused at or concentrated upon the officer's ear or head. The legislation explicitly includes the use of bullhorns, megaphones, air horns, sirens, whistles, amplified speakers, or other acoustic devices as forms of battery when employed in this manner. Additionally, the bill creates enhanced penalties when battery of a police officer is committed by two or more persons acting together with the intent to participate in the offense, establishing a mandatory sentence of at least one year and no more than five years imprisonment with a fine up to two thousand dollars, with at least thirty days to be served without parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, and further increases penalties to a minimum of two years and maximum of seven years imprisonment with a fine up to five thousand dollars when the offense produces injury requiring medical attention, with at least sixty days to be served without such benefits.

Law enforcement officers will benefit from expanded protection against acoustic attacks that previously may not have constituted battery under existing law. Individuals who intentionally direct sound-generating devices at officers in close proximity for purposes of causing pain or hearing damage will now face criminal charges as specified in the statute. Protest groups and demonstrators using amplified sound in proximity to officers may face enhanced criminal exposure depending on their intent and positioning relative to specific officers, though the statute requires proof that the sound was directed at a particular officer and capable of causing pain or hearing injury. The enhanced penalties for group conduct will apply to all participants in a concerted action meeting the statutory elements, multiplying potential criminal consequences for organized actions.

The bill operates within Louisiana's existing battery framework established in R.S. 14:34.2, which previously addressed battery of police officers through physical force or violence. This expansion extends that framework to acoustically-delivered force, conceptually treating directed sound as a form of violence capable of causing bodily harm rather than requiring physical contact. The statute employs a reasonable person standard to establish foreseeability of harm and specifies that the conduct must be capable of causing physical pain, hearing impairment, or bodily injury, incorporating elements of mens rea and causation already present in battery jurisprudence. The bill includes a constitutional savings clause explicitly stating that nothing in the section shall be construed to prohibit activity protected by the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of Louisiana, which may become relevant if the statute is challenged as impermissibly restricting First Amendment freedoms or other protected conduct, particularly regarding protest activities using amplified sound in public forums.