Dear Mr. Chairman and Representative Nadler,
I am writing on behalf of the members of the Fraternal Order of Police to you and the Members of the Committee on the Judiciary to advise you of our strong opposition to an amendment that we expect will be offed by Representatives Chip Roy (R-TX) and Harriet M. Hageman (R-WY) during the mark-up of H.R. 743, the “Protect and Serve Act.”
This legislation, which is a priority for the FOP, was drafted specifically to address the increasing number of ambush-style attacks on law enforcement officers by imposing, in limited circumstances, Federal penalties on individuals who deliberately target local, State or Federal law enforcement officers with violence. The Roy-Hageman amendment would gut the bill and render it utterly useless. The amendment would transform this carefully crafted legislation to combat violence against law enforcement officers into a toothless bill, albeit with a noble preamble.
The amendment would remove any and all discretion of the Federal government to bring charges against cop-killers and others who target law enforcement officers for violence. It does so by striking provisions allowing the Federal government to charge individuals in cases where the State verdict or sentence is counter to the Federal interest in protecting public safety and securing substantial justice. If this amendment is adopted, the new Federal law would only be applicable if the State has no jurisdiction to prosecute or the State asks the Federal government to adopt the case—which is already an existing practice.
The amendment effectively empowers “woke” rogue prosecutors who do not take violence targeting law enforcement officers seriously. It would allow Congress to continue avoiding the epidemic of violence targeting our nation’s law enforcement officers. If any other profession were plagued by this level of violence, Congress would act. Why is it acceptable to ignore violence against these selfless public servants?
Law enforcement is a dangerous profession, as was demonstrated with the mass shooting of law enforcement officers in Charlotte, North Carolina. Officers are always in harm’s way and are prepared, if necessary, to lay down their lives in the line of duty. Eight officers were shot yesterday, and four were killed—all in a single, tragic, and senseless incident. While there is no legislation that Congress could pass that will completely protect officers from harm in the course of performing their duty, we can help deter and punish individuals who target officers for violence by enacting H.R. 743, the “Protect and Serve Act,” a bill that unanimously passed this committee in 2018 just before passing the House on an overwhelming 382-35 vote. Passing the “Protect and Serve Act” would be a strong show of support for the men and women in the line of fire and send a clear message to those who would seek to do them harm.
However, if the Roy-Hageman amendment is adopted the “Protect and Serve Act” becomes meaningless and will do absolutely nothing to protect our men and women in the field. If adopted, the FOP would withdraw our support for H.R. 743 as the legislation would be nothing more than a few useless pages that will allow some elected officials to say they “did something” to protect cops. We urge the committee to reject the Roy-Hageman amendment.
On behalf of the more than 373,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I want to thank you both for your leadership and continued partnership on law enforcement and criminal justice issues, and for bringing H.R. 743, the “Protect and Serve Act,” for mark-up. If I can provide any additional information about this legislation, please do not hesitate to contact me or Executive Director Jim Pasco in our Washington, D.C. office.
Sincerely,
Patrick Yoes
National President