Assault is an illegal act that involves causing physical harm or unwanted physical contact to another person, or the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort, and may result in criminal prosecution, civil liability, or both. Assault can be committed with or without a weapon and can range from physical violence to threats of violence. Here are some key points to understand about assault:
- Assault is generally defined as an intentional act that puts another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact.
- No physical injury is required for an act to be considered assault, but the actor must have intended to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the victim and the victim must have been put in immediate apprehension of such a contact.
- The victims reasonable belief that the act will lead to imminent harmful or offensive contact is referred to as "reasonable apprehension".
- Assault can be defined differently from one state to another, and the classification can be based on the resulting injury, weapons used, or other circumstances of the crime.
- Assault may include one or more types of harm, such as pushing, shoving, slapping, punching, or kicking, and may also include the use of weapons like knives, sticks, bottles, or bats.
- Depending on the laws in place, an attack can still be considered an assault even if it results in no physical injury to the victim.
It's important to note that assault and battery are often used interchangeably, but they are actually two separate crimes. Assault is the threat of violence, while battery is the actual physical contact.
