WASHINGTON —Congressional bills in both state and federal legislatures have placed increased emphasis on punishing those responsible for attacks on first responders.
Among the bills are those that could expand the use of the federal death penalty, set longer minimum sentences for those convicted in attacks and make spitting on an officer a punishable assault.
Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Vern Buchanan introduced the Thin Blue Line Act, a bill aimed at expanding federal death penalty considerations to include those who target state and local law enforcement officers, firefighters and other first responders, according to a news release. The proposed legislation builds on existing federal law, which already applies enhanced penalties to crimes against federal officers and judges.
“Violent crimes targeting law enforcement demand immediate action,” Cruz stated at the bill’s introduction. “These crimes should never be tolerated. Every day, members of law enforcement risk their lives to protect our communities, and they deserve the full protection of the law.”
Several major law enforcement organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs’ Association and the United States Deputy Sheriff’s Association, have voiced support for the bill, according to the release.
“It should not be ‘part of the job’ to be a target for someone who is looking to simply kill or injure a cop,” FOP National President Patrick Yoes said. “The ‘Thin Blue Line Act’ aims to reduce these attacks by expanding the list of aggravating factors in death penalty determinations for those who target, kill or attempt to kill a law enforcement or other public safety officers, which sends a clear message to those who target, kill or attempt to kill a law enforcement or other public safety officer that they will be held accountable and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
While the Thin Blue Line act works its way through congress, another pair of bills aimed at punishing those who target law enforcement has also highlighted concerns for officer safety.
Senator Thom Tillis reintroduced the Protect and Serve Act and the Justice for Fallen Law Enforcement Act, two bills aimed at increasing federal penalties for those who target law enforcement officers, according to a news release. The Protect and Serve Act would establish a federal crime for knowingly causing or attempting to cause bodily harm to an officer, carrying a sentence of up to 10 years, or life imprisonment if the attack results in death or other serious offenses.
The Justice for Fallen Law Enforcement Act would impose life imprisonment or the death penalty for the murder of a law enforcement officer and set a 20-year minimum sentence for assaults causing serious injury, according to the release. The legislation also mandates a study to assess prosecutions under the act after three years.
Law enforcement organizations, including the National Fraternal Order of Police and the National Association of Police Organizations, strongly support the measures, citing an alarming rise in violence against officers. In 2024, 342 officers were shot in the line of duty, 50 of whom were killed, with 61 ambush-style attacks recorded, according to an FOP report.
“The attack on officers in San Antonio, Texas on January 22, during which seven officers were shot as they responded to a call for help, once again highlights the dangerous profession law enforcement officers have and the risks they face when serving and protecting their communities,” said Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations. “The shooting of those seven brave officers is just adding to the ever-increasing number of officers being shot in the line of duty. NAPO is calling on Congress to take up and pass the Protect and Serve Act and the Justice for Fallen Law Enforcement Act to demonstrate that the killing or the attempted killing of our nation’s law enforcement officers is unacceptable and those who commit these heinous crimes must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
At the state level, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has proposed legislation to increase penalties for assaults on law enforcement officers.The bill seeks to elevate certain assault charges, including raising offenses involving dangerous weapons or intent to cause serious injury, from a D felony to a C felony, assaults causing bodily injury from an aggravated misdemeanor to a D felony, and all other assaults from a serious misdemeanor to an aggravated misdemeanor, with a mandatory minimum sentence of seven days in jail.
Additionally, the bill classifies spitting on officers and first responders as a punishable assault.
Lawmakers in Florida have introduced Senate Bill 1092, which aims to strengthen legal protections for law enforcement officers, Click Orlando.com reported. The bill, a response to the 2021 killing of Daytona Beach Officer Jason Raynor, would prohibit individuals from using or threatening force to resist arrest or detention, regardless of whether the arrest is lawful or unlawful, leaving it entirely up to the courts to determine wrongdoing in such interactions.
“I think this is a commonsense approach that people should realize you cannot take the law into your own hands. That’s why we have the court system,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood told Click Orlando.com. “…You can say ‘Screw you, I’m not talking to you’ and walk away, and you’re well within your rights to do that, but you can’t turn around and say, ‘I don’t like your questions’ and ‘I don’t like the fact that you touched me, so now I’m going to kill you.’”
The bill also proposes life imprisonment without parole for anyone convicted of manslaughter in the death of a law enforcement officer, according to the report.
