HARRISBURG – SEPT. 21, 2005 – A bill that would make it a serious crime to assault a city worker cleared the Senate Judiciary committee this week, said the bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione.

     Added to the bill was a Tartaglione amendment that would also provide for serious penalties for assault of a mass transit worker.

     “As much as we would like to believe that such acts are unthinkable, that is not the case,” Tartaglione said. “We need to take steps to protect vulnerable public servants.”

     Senate Bill 629 would make assault on a municipal worker, such as a trash collector, an automatic aggravated assault under Title 18, Section 2702 of the Crimes Code. The amendment applies the provision for mass transit workers as well. Penalties for such assaults could be as much as 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

     Part of the motivation for the bill was the violent assault of two city trash collectors by a family who became irate, chased them down the street and pulled them off their trucks.  Both workers were hospitalized by their injuries.

     At the same time, SEPTA officials have provided Tartaglione’s office with a sampling of more than a dozen assaults on drivers, a fraction, they said, of the number of actual assaults.

     “Unfortunately, those who deal with the public sometimes deal with hostility,” Tartaglione said. “If we change the law, I believe we can prevent that hostility from rising to a dangerous level.”

     Now that it has cleared the Judiciary Committee, the bill can be considered by the full Senate.