Rhode Island law enforcement personnel support active shooter legislation

The Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association (RIPCA) and Rhode Island law enforcement recently expressed support for U.S. Rep. David N. Cicilline’s (D-RI) Active Shooter Alert Act (H.R.6538).

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha also supports the measure, which would create a program similar to the AMBER Alert system for law enforcement, alerting the public to active shooters in their community.

“Just last month, we witnessed and felt the terror of an active shooter right here in Rhode Island, as a gunman fired hundreds of rounds at Providence Police Officers from his home in a dense residential neighborhood – just a four-minute walk from a public school and a playground,” Cicilline said. “So, the question is, as we work to combat gun violence, how do we keep the public safe if and when there is an active shooter? The bipartisan Active Shooter Alert Act, by creating an AMBER Alert-like system for active shooter events, will provide law enforcement with a much-needed tool, one that will allow them to send notifications to our phones and let communities know if there is an active shooter in a certain area – so that we know to stay away.”

Recent FBI statistics showed there were 40 active shooter events in 2020. The agency defines an active shooter event as an incident in which one or more individuals are actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.

“As both a husband and father to a school teacher, I am professionally and personally elated to have this federally sponsored alert program available for all our school-aged children, concerned parents, and educational staff,” Bristol Police Department Chief Kevin Lynch, vice resident of the RIPCA, said.