U.S. Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE) and Jared Golden (R-ME) introduced legislation that would offer protection for federal judges, law enforcement and public safety officers.
The Back the Blue Act would create new criminal provisions regarding the killing of, or the attempt to kill, or conspiring to kill, federal law enforcement officers, U.S. judges and federally funded public safety officers, including firefighters, chaplains, and members of rescue squads or ambulance crews. In the case of a death, the legislation carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years and makes the perpetrator eligible for the death penalty. In other cases, the perpetrator faces a minimum 10-year sentence.
“Those who protect our communities – whether it’s on the beat, from the bench, behind a hose, or performing CPR – deserve extra protection from violence directed at them, including assault, intent to kill, or conspiracy to kill,” Bacon said. “The anger and violence have risen against these community guardians and this legislation is needed now. I am looking forward to working with Rep. Golden to get this long-overdue legislation passed into law.”
The legislation also creates a new federal crime with escalating penalties for assaulting a federally funded law enforcement officer based on the extent of any injury and the use of a dangerous weapon. An offender who attempts to flee from justice to avoid prosecution would be subject to a mandatory 10-year sentence as well.
Lastly, the legislation creates a specific aggravating factor for federal death penalty prosecutions, expands self-defense and Second Amendment rights for law enforcement officers and opens grant funding for community policing.
“At a time when violence against law enforcement is trending upward, we must do more to protect the protectors,” Golden said. “This bill takes a strategic two-pronged approach: First, it makes clear with new criminal provisions that violence against federal law enforcement officers, judges and other federally funded public safety officers will not be tolerated. Second, it opens new federal funds to strengthen the relationship between officers and the communities they serve and protect. It’s a tough, smart bill to ensure those who attack or kill officers pay a steep price, and to help reduce violence against officers before it happens.”