Washington, DC - Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, assured members that the FOP is doing everything it can to address an issue raised by retired law enforcement officers under the Law Enforcement Officers’ Safety Act (LEOSA).

“I am hearing often from our retired members who want the President, Governors or local sheriffs and chiefs to waive the requirement that retired officers qualify annually with their firearm as prescribed in the law,” Yoes said. “This requirement is statutory—it is part of the law and cannot be waived by any executive power. We have to change the statute.”

Because of social distancing requirements and strains on local resources, local and State agencies are not qualifying active or retired officers as they normally would. Active duty officers can still carry under the LEOSA provisions, but retired officers who have not qualified in the past 12 months cannot do so lawfully. This would limit the ability of retired officers to assist their local agencies during the pandemic crisis should those local agencies need additional officers to maintain public safety.

“We have draft language that our allies in the Senate are working to quickly include in upcoming legislation that would suspend the training requirement for the duration of the national emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Yoes said. “The bill that is expected to pass the Senate today is an economic stimulus bill and our provision was set aside with a host of other measures. I am confident that Congress will address this issue in an upcoming bill responding to the current crisis.”

The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States with more than 350,000 members.