Assault and battery are two separate crimes in Colorado law. Assault is unlawfully causing injury to another person, such as through punching, hitting, or kicking. And battery – which is more commonly referred to as menacing (CRS 18-3-206) in Colorado – is using threats or actions to try to place a person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury.
In other words, menacing is like giving the impression of an attempted assault. Assault typically carries harsher punishments than menacing.
What is assault in Colorado?
There are actually three degrees of assault charges, and each has its own penalties:
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Colorado assault definition |
Punishments |
First degree assault (CRS 18-3-202):
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Class 3 felony:
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Second degree assault (CRS 18-3-203):
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Class 4 felony:
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Third degree assault (CRS 18-3-204):
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Extraordinary risk class 1 misdemeanor:
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What is menacing (battery) in Colorado?
Menacing is using actions or threats to knowingly place — or attempt to place — another person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury. In other words, an attempted assault. Examples of menacing (which is the legal term for battery charges) include:
- Holding a clenched fist up to someone’s face as if a punch is coming
- Throwing a heavy object in the person’s direction
- Threatening to beat up a person if the person does not move out of the way right now
Since there are no injuries, the menacing penalties are usually laxer than those for assault law violations. The sentence instead turns of whether use of a deadly weapon was involved or threatened.
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Colorado menacing crime (CRS 18-3-206) |
Punishments |
| Making a criminal threat with no deadly weapon. | Class 1 misdemeanor:
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| Displaying or using a deadly weapon (or an article that a person reasonably believes is a deadly weapon), or representing verbally or otherwise that the defendant is armed with a deadly weapon. | Class 5 felony:
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What are defenses to assault & battery?
A common defense strategy to assault and menacing charges is that the defendant was acting in reasonable self-defense to a violent crime inflicted by the accuser/victim. Criminal defense attorneys would search for all the available evidence – such as surveillance video, eyewitness accounts, and medical expert testimony – to show that the defendant was the victim of a crime of violence, and that any reasonable person in the defendant’s position would have fought back.
Other possible defenses include that the incident was an accident, that the defendant was falsely accused, or that the victim consented to the assault or battery.
Our criminal law office is based in Denver, but our criminal defense lawyers practice throughout the state, including Colorado Springs. Call our phone number or fill out the form on this page.
Prior to March 1, 2022, extraordinary risk class 1 misdemeanor crimes carried up to 24 months in jail and/or $5,000 in fines. And menacing without a weapon was a class 3 misdemeanor carrying up to 6 months in jail and/or a fine of $50 to $750. SB21-271.
