Swift v. State
973 So. 2d 1196, 2008 WL 142087 (2008)
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Rule of Law:
A conviction for assault requires the state to prove that the defendant had the specific intent to make an intentional, unlawful threat of violence. The victim's subjective fear of imminent violence is insufficient to establish assault if the state cannot prove the defendant knew of the victim's presence and intended to threaten them.
Facts:
- Officer Kevin Sweat received a tip that a felony suspect was a passenger in a gold SUV driven by Reginald L. Swift.
- After locating the SUV, Officer Sweat and Sergeant Michael Green approached it while it was parked in a residential driveway with its engine running.
- The officers, positioned on the passenger side of the SUV, ordered Swift to turn off the engine and for the passenger to open the door.
- Swift did not comply and instead began maneuvering the SUV to back out of the driveway, first backing up and then pulling forward.
- While Swift pulled the SUV forward, Officer Sweat ran from his position at the rear passenger door to a position directly behind the vehicle.
- Swift then backed the SUV up again, forcing Officer Sweat to step out of the way to avoid being hit.
- The entire encounter lasted less than thirty seconds at night, and the SUV had tinted windows.
- Swift then successfully drove away from the scene.
Procedural Posture:
- The State of Florida filed a three-count information against Reginald L. Swift in the circuit court, charging him with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting law enforcement, and fleeing.
- At the conclusion of the State's case at trial, Swift's counsel moved for a judgment of acquittal on the aggravated assault charge, arguing the State failed to prove intent.
- The trial court denied the motion.
- The jury returned a verdict finding Swift guilty on all three counts.
- The trial court later dismissed the resisting charge and sentenced Swift to prison on the aggravated assault and fleeing charges.
- Swift, as the appellant, appealed his conviction for aggravated assault to the District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District, with the State of Florida as the appellee.
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Issue:
Does a defendant commit aggravated assault when backing a vehicle in the direction of a police officer if the state fails to prove the defendant knew the officer was in the vehicle's path, thus failing to establish the requisite specific intent to threaten?
Opinions:
Majority - Judge Wallace
No. To establish aggravated assault, the State must prove the defendant had a specific intent to do violence, which requires showing the defendant knew the officer was in a position to be threatened. Here, the State failed to prove that Swift was aware that Officer Sweat had moved behind his vehicle in the few seconds it took for him to begin backing out of the driveway. While Swift's actions of fleeing were unlawful, they did not, without more, establish a specific intent to threaten Officer Sweat with the vehicle. The victim's well-founded fear is only one element of the offense; the defendant's intent to create that fear is also required and was not proven here.
Analysis:
This decision reaffirms the stringent requirement for proving specific intent in assault cases, particularly when a vehicle is used as the alleged weapon. It highlights that a defendant's general intent to flee from law enforcement is not automatically transferable to a specific intent to assault an officer during that flight. The ruling underscores the importance of the defendant's subjective state of mind, demonstrating that the prosecution must present concrete evidence that the defendant was aware of the victim's specific location and peril. This case serves as a key precedent in Florida for distinguishing between reckless endangerment or resisting arrest and the distinct crime of aggravated assault, which demands proof of a conscious intent to threaten violence.
