N.Y. Penal Law § 120.05 (2026)

§ 120.05 Assault in the second degree.
  A person is guilty of assault in the second degree when:
  1. With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he
causes such injury to such person or to a third person; or
  2. With intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes
such injury to such person or to a third person by means of a deadly
weapon or a dangerous instrument; or
  3. With intent to prevent a peace officer, a police officer,
prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the
criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse,
public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian,
sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, a
firefighter, including a firefighter acting as a paramedic or emergency
medical technician administering first aid in the course of performance
of duty as such firefighter, an emergency medical service paramedic or
emergency medical service technician, or medical or related personnel in
a hospital emergency department, a city marshal, a school crossing guard
appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general
municipal law, a traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent
or employee of any entity governed by the public service law in the
course of performing an essential service, from performing a lawful
duty, by means including releasing or failing to control an animal under
circumstances evincing the actor's intent that the animal obstruct the
lawful activity of such peace officer, police officer, prosecutor as
defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal
procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health
sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation
enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, firefighter,
paramedic, technician, city marshal, school crossing guard appointed
pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law,
traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent or employee of an
entity governed by the public service law, he or she causes physical
injury to such peace officer, police officer, prosecutor as defined in
subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law,
registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian,
New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent,
New York city sanitation worker, firefighter, paramedic, technician or
medical or related personnel in a hospital emergency department, city
marshal, school crossing guard, traffic enforcement officer, traffic
enforcement agent or employee of an entity governed by the public
service law; or
  3-a. With intent to prevent an employee of a local social services
district directly involved in investigation of or response to alleged
abuse or neglect of a child, a vulnerable elderly person or an
incompetent or physically disabled person, from performing such
investigation or response, the actor, not being such child, vulnerable
elderly person or incompetent or physically disabled person, or with
intent to prevent an employee of a local social services district
directly involved in providing public assistance and care from
performing his or her job, causes physical injury to such employee
including by means of releasing or failing to control an animal under
circumstances evincing the actor's intent that the animal obstruct the
lawful activities of such employee; or
  3-b. With intent to prevent an employee of the New York city housing
authority from performing his or her lawful duties while located on
housing project grounds, real property, or a building owned, managed, or
operated by such authority he or she causes physical injury to such
employee; or
  3-c. With intent to prevent an employee providing direct patient care,
who is not a nurse pursuant to title eight of the education law, whose
principal employment responsibility is to carry out direct patient care
for one or more patients in any hospital, nursing home, residential
health care facility, general hospital, government agency including any
chronic disease hospital, maternity hospital, outpatient department,
emergency center or surgical center under article twenty-eight of the
public health law, from performing a lawful duty, he or she causes
physical injury to such employee providing direct patient care; or
  4. He recklessly causes serious physical injury to another person by
means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument; or
  4-a. He recklessly causes physical injury to another person who is a
child under the age of eighteen by intentional discharge of a firearm,
rifle or shotgun; or
  5. For a purpose other than lawful medical or therapeutic treatment,
he intentionally causes stupor, unconsciousness or other physical
impairment or injury to another person by administering to him, without
his consent, a drug, substance or preparation capable of producing the
same; or
  6. In the course of and in furtherance of the commission or attempted
commission of a felony, other than a felony defined in article one
hundred thirty which requires corroboration for conviction, or of
immediate flight therefrom, he, or another participant if there be any,
causes physical injury to a person other than one of the participants;
or
  7. Having been charged with or convicted of a crime and while confined
in a correctional facility, as defined in subdivision three of section
forty of the correction law, pursuant to such charge or conviction, with
intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes such injury
to such person or to a third person; or
  8. Being eighteen years old or more and with intent to cause physical
injury to a person less than eleven years old, the defendant recklessly
causes serious physical injury to such person; or
  9. Being eighteen years old or more and with intent to cause physical
injury to a person less than seven years old, the defendant causes such
injury to such person; or
  10. Acting at a place the person knows, or reasonably should know, is
on school grounds and with intent to cause physical injury, he or she:
  (a) causes such injury to an employee of a school or public school
district; or
  (b) not being a student of such school or public school district,
causes physical injury to another, and such other person is a student of
such school who is attending or present for educational purposes. For
purposes of this subdivision the term "school grounds" shall have the
meaning set forth in subdivision fourteen of section 220.00 of this
chapter; or
  11. With intent to cause physical injury to a train operator, ticket
inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent, station
cleaner, terminal cleaner, station customer assistant, traffic checker;
person whose official duties include the sale or collection of tickets,
passes, vouchers, or other revenue payment media for use on a train,
bus, or ferry the collection or handling of revenues therefrom; a person
whose official duties include the maintenance, repair, inspection,
troubleshooting, testing or cleaning of buses or ferries, a transit
signal system, elevated or underground subway tracks, transit station
structure, including fare equipment, escalators, elevators and other
equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or
stations, train yard, revenue train in passenger service, a ferry
station, or a train or bus station or terminal; or a supervisor of such
personnel, employed by any transit or commuter rail agency, authority or
company, public or private, whose operation is authorized by New York
state or any of its political subdivisions, a city marshal, a school
crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the
general municipal law, a traffic enforcement officer, traffic
enforcement agent, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of
section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, sanitation enforcement
agent, New York city sanitation worker, public health sanitarian, New
York city public health sanitarian, registered nurse, licensed practical
nurse, emergency medical service paramedic, or emergency medical service
technician, he or she causes physical injury to such train operator,
ticket inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent,
station cleaner, terminal cleaner, station customer assistant, traffic
checker; person whose official duties include the sale or collection of
tickets, passes, vouchers or other revenue payment media for use on a
train, bus, or ferry or the collection or handling of revenues
therefrom; a person whose official duties include the maintenance,
repair, inspection, troubleshooting, testing or cleaning of buses or
ferries, a transit signal system, elevated or underground subway tracks,
transit station structure, including fare equipment, escalators,
elevators and other equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter
rail tracks or stations, train yard, revenue train in passenger service,
a ferry station, or a train or bus station or terminal; or a supervisor
of such personnel, city marshal, school crossing guard appointed
pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law,
traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent, prosecutor as
defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal
procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health
sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation
enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, emergency medical
service paramedic, or emergency medical service technician, while such
employee is performing an assigned duty on, or directly related to, the
operation of a train or bus, cleaning of a train or bus station or
terminal, assisting customers, checking traffic, the sale or collection
of tickets, passes, vouchers, or other revenue media for use on a train,
bus, or ferry or maintenance or cleaning of a train, a bus, a ferry, or
bus station or terminal, signal system, elevated or underground subway
tracks, transit station structure, including fare equipment, escalators,
elevators and other equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter
rail tracks or stations, train yard or revenue train in passenger
service, a ferry station, or such city marshal, school crossing guard,
traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent, prosecutor as
defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal
procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health
sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation
enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, emergency medical
service paramedic, or emergency medical service technician is performing
an assigned duty; or
  11-a. With intent to cause physical injury to an employee of a local
social services district directly involved in investigation of or
response to alleged abuse or neglect of a child, vulnerable elderly
person or an incompetent or physically disabled person, the actor, not
being such child, vulnerable elderly person or incompetent or physically
disabled person, or with intent to prevent an employee of a local social
services district directly involved in providing public assistance and
care from performing his or her job, causes physical injury to such
employee; or
  11-b. With intent to cause physical injury to an employee of the New
York city housing authority performing his or her lawful duties while
located on housing project grounds, real property, or a building owned,
managed, or operated by such authority he or she causes physical injury
to such employee; or
  11-c. With intent to cause physical injury to an employee providing
direct patient care, who is not a nurse pursuant to title eight of the
education law, whose principal employment responsibility is to carry out
direct patient care for one or more patients in any hospital, nursing
home, residential health care facility, general hospital, government
agency including any chronic disease hospital, maternity hospital,
outpatient department, emergency center or surgical center under article
twenty-eight of the public health law, he or she causes physical injury
to such employee providing direct patient care while such employee is
performing a lawful duty; or
  12. With intent to cause physical injury to a person who is sixty-five
years of age or older, he or she causes such injury to such person, and
the actor is more than ten years younger than such person; or
  13. Being confined to a secure treatment facility, as such term is
defined in subdivision (o) of section 10.03 of the mental hygiene law,
and with intent to cause physical injury to an employee of such secure
treatment facility performing his or her duties, he or she causes such
injury to such person; or
  14. With intent to prevent or obstruct a process server, as defined in
section eighty-nine-t of the general business law, from performing a
lawful duty pursuant to article three of the civil practice law and
rules, or intentionally, as retaliation against such a process server
for the performance of the process server's duties pursuant to such
article, including by means of releasing or failing to control an animal
evincing the actor's intent that the animal prevent or obstruct the
lawful duty of the process server or as retaliation against the process
server, he or she causes physical injury to such process server.
  Assault in the second degree is a class D felony.