BATTERY ON A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER OR SPECIFIED PERSONNEL (F.S. § 784.07(2)(b))
PRETRIAL INTERVENTION (PTI) WITH EARLY TERMINATION AT SIX MONTHS
Escambia County, FL
July 2, 2026
Client was charged in Escambia County with Battery on Specified Personnel (F.S. § 784.07(2)(b)), a third-degree felony carrying up to 5 years in Florida State Prison and a $5,000 fine. Florida reclassifies a simple misdemeanor battery to a felony when the alleged victim falls within a protected class of personnel. Cases in this category are among the hardest in the system to resolve favorably: prosecutors charge them aggressively, offers routinely involve adjudication, and both prosecutors and judges are institutionally reluctant to appear lenient.
The defense secured a Pretrial Intervention offer early in the case, which by itself meant the felony would be dismissed on successful completion with no conviction entered. The defense then asked the State to go further and extend the same intervention on a reduced misdemeanor battery charge under F.S. § 784.03 rather than on the charged felony, so the client would not carry a pending felony for the duration of the program. The State declined to reduce the charge. Where the defense did move the State was on duration. The agreement was structured with early termination at six months rather than the standard full-length program, cutting the client's time under supervision and accelerating the dismissal of the felony charge. The case resolved with no conviction, no incarceration, and no felony record. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes; each case depends on its facts and circumstances.