WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sen. Thom Tillis and a group of other Republican senators in Washington say that those who kill local law enforcement officers should be prepared to face the harshest possible punishment.
- They have introduced the Thin Blue Line Act, arguing it will make people think twice before targeting first responders.
- Critics of the bill like those at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) argue the legislation is duplicative.
- The legislation deals with the so-called “aggravating factors” that juries have to consider in death penalty cases.
They have introduced the Thin Blue Line Act, arguing it will make people think twice before targeting first responders.
“Keeping our law enforcement officers safe is directly related to keeping our communities safe,” Tillis said.
However, critics of the bill like those at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), argue the legislation is duplicative. They also believe it could stir division between police and the communities they serve.
The legislation deals with the so-called “aggravating factors” that juries have to consider in death penalty cases.
Targeting a federal law enforcement officer is already an aggravating factor in federal capital cases. Tillis says the bill expands that definition in federal cases to include targeting local law enforcement, local prosecutors, and local first responders.
“We want to continue to take the fight to people who would harm men and women in uniform,” he said. “Every opportunity that we have to tell members of law enforcement that we have their back is important."
However, it is rare for these sorts of local homicide cases to be handled at the federal level, says Rashida Ogletree-George, the Managing Director of the Policing Reform Campaign at LDF.
“This appears to be more sort of political pandering instead of focusing on real reforms,” she said.
Ogletree-George said leaders should instead focus on ways to improve relations between the police and the communities they serve.
“There are ways to do that, by enhancing funds for training for police, anti-bias training or de-escalation training,” she said.
LDF notes all 50 states already have laws in place enhancing penalties for people who kill law enforcement officers, meaning those suspects face potentially stiffer punishments at the state level.
In North Carolina, for example, targeting a police officer is already an aggravating factor for juries to consider in state death penalty cases.
The Thin Blue Line Act has the backing of several law enforcement organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police.
In a letter to Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., who sponsored the bill, the national president of the Fraternal Order of Police wrote, “It is our job to protect others but it should not be ‘part of the job’ to be a target of someone who is looking to simply kill a cop.”
On Capitol Hill, the Thin Blue Line Act failed to gain traction in the Senate last Congress, though a similar bill did pass the then-Republican controlled House.