Whoever assaults and batters or attempts to assault and batter an employee of the department acting within the scope of his employment shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) or be imprisoned for not less than three days nor more than six months, or both, together with costs of prosecution. Jurisdiction over actions brought under this section is hereby granted to magistrate courts.
NMS § 7-1-75