(a) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
CORRECTIONAL EMPLOYEE. Any individual employed by the West Virginia Division of Corrections or the West Virginia Regional Jail Authority.
EMERGENCY SERVICE PERSONNEL. Any paid or volunteer firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic, or other emergency services personnel employed by or under contract with an emergency medical service provider or a state agency or political subdivision thereof.
GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE. Any officer or employee of the state or a political subdivision thereof, or a person under contract with a state agency or political subdivision thereof.
HEALTH CARE WORKER. Any nurse, nurse practitioner, physician, physician assistant, or technician practicing at, and all persons employed by or under contract to a hospital, county or district health department, long-term care facility, physician’s office, clinic, or outpatient treatment facility.
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. Has the same definition as this term is defined in W. Va. Code 30-29-1, except for purposes of this section, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER shall additionally include those individuals defined as “chief executive” in W. Va. Code 30-29-1.
UTILITY WORKER. Any individual employed by a public utility or electric cooperative or under contract to a public utility, electric cooperative, or interstate pipeline.
(b) Battery. No person shall unlawfully, knowingly, and intentionally make physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with a government representative, health care worker, utility worker, emergency service personnel, correctional employee, or law enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity and the person committing the battery knows or has reason to know that the victim is acting in his or her official capacity, or unlawfully and intentionally causes physical harm to that person acting in such capacity and the person committing the battery knows or has reason to know that the victim is acting in his or her official capacity. Whoever violates this division (b) is guilty of a misdemeanor for a first offense.
(c) Assault. No person shall unlawfully attempt to commit a violent injury to the person of a government representative, health care worker, utility worker, emergency service personnel, correctional employee, or law enforcement officer, acting in his or her official capacity and the person committing the battery knows or has reason to know that the victim is acting in his or her official capacity, or unlawfully commits an act which places that person acting in his or her official capacity in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury and the person committing the battery knows or has reason to know that the victim is acting in his or her official capacity.
(d) Penalty. Any person convicted of any crime set forth in this section who is incarcerated in a facility operated by the West Virginia Division of Corrections or the West Virginia Regional Jail Authority, at the time of committing the offense and whose victim is a correctional employee, may not be sentenced in a manner by which the sentence would run concurrent with any other sentence being served at the time of sentencing, but shall run consecutively to the current sentence.
(W. Va. Code 61-2-10b)