Bill targets anti-police violence by teens

MARIETTA — The justice system has special procedures for children who commit crimes, based on the idea that they are less responsible for their actions and capable of growing into responsible, law-abiding adults.

But Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn said there are times when juvenile court is not a solution.

“The law also recognizes that some of the crimes juveniles 13- to 17-year-olds commit are so outrageous that they are unlikely to benefit from rehabilitation and counseling,” Flynn said in an email to the Marietta Daily Journal.

Under current state law, eight crimes — murder, murder in the second degree, voluntary manslaughter, rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery and armed robbery if committed with a firearm — are considered severe enough that a district attorney can try a minor defendant as an adult.

Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, wants to add attacking a police officer to that list.

House Bill 116, which Reeves sponsored, would make those ages 13 to 17 who are accused of committing aggravated assault with a firearm or aggravated battery against an officer of the law eligible for trial as an adult, if a district attorney requests it. Under HB 116, a superior court judge could also decide to overrule the DA and send the case to juvenile court if he or she wanted.

The bill passed the state House on Monday morning with 130 yeas to 36 nays.

Reeves said he was inspired to draft the bill after Marietta police officer Scott Davis was shot on duty last August, allegedly by a 15-year-old male.