Bill By Marietta Lawmaker Targets Juveniles Who Shoot Police

MARIETTA, GA -- A Marietta lawmaker is spearheading an effort to make it easier for the state to prosecute juveniles who commit serious crimes against police officers.

Minors who commit such crimes are often shepherded through the juvenile court system and only find themselves in the adult legal system at the discretion of a prosecutor. But a bill sponsored by Rep. Bert Reeves, a Republican, would allow minors who shoot police officers to be tried as adults.

House Bill 11 was reportedly approved Wednesday by the Judiciary Non-Civil Committee.

The legislation aims to amend the existing law "so as to provide the superior court with exclusive original jurisdiction for cases involving aggravated assault upon a peace officer or correctional officer involving the use of a firearm and aggravated battery upon a peace officer or correctional officer," according to records on the Georgia Assembly website

Read more: Fix loophole in Georgia's juvey justice system, say Marietta police

“No matter how old you are, if you’re going to shoot a police officer or pull a gun on a police officer, you’ve sailed beyond juvenile treatment and you will potentially face charges as an adult,” Reeves told the Marietta Daily Journal.

The bill comes months after two teenagers opened fire on Officer Scott Davis. The teens were referred to juvenile detention rather than hard time.

Davis suffered a gunshot wound in August 2016 when he responded to a car break-in in the middle of the night on Franklin Road, as Patch previously reported. Local authorities had intentions of charging the teens -- one 15-year-old and the other, a 16-year-old -- with a litany of crimes, including aggravated assault on a police officer, entering auto, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony and theft by receiving.

But when the court case rolled around, the law did not come down hard on the boys, despite both of them having criminal records, even belonging to the Blood street gang.

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