U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) recently hosted a roundtable discussion with law enforcement personnel, which examined the overall crime uptick nationally and increased threats to first responders.
The session with law enforcement personnel from Florida’s 16th District advocated for the lawmaker’s Thin Blue Line Act, which bolsters penalties against anyone who intentionally targets or murders police officers and other first responders by making such an action an “aggravating” factor in death penalty determinations.
“Our brave law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every single day to help those in harm’s way,” Buchanan said, noting as crime rises across the country, the roundtable discussion provided an opportunity to hear directly from law enforcement personnel regarding what they are seeing in their communities, as well as nationwide.
“To bring in all of the chiefs and majors from the area and have a roundtable to discuss some of the challenges is amazing,” Palmetto Police Department Deputy Chief Rex Troche said.
The benefit of the roundtable is local law enforcement building on relationships and communication then formulating a plan moving forward.
Per the National Fraternal Order of Police, 346 police officers were shot in the line of duty last year, with 73 of those individuals being killed.
The figures represent a 28 percent rise over 2020, and ambush-style officer attacks increased over 125 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, per authorities.