Senators Push to Ensure Law Enforcement Officers are Protected

Last week, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt joined several of his Senate Republican colleagues in sending a letter to Attorney General William Barr concerning the recent rise in individuals targeting law enforcement officers with harassment, assault, and deadly attacks.

The brave men and women in law enforcement are essential to public safety and stability

“Over the past three months, our nation has been in the midst of a vital debate about the relationship between law enforcement and our communities,” the senators wrote. “All of us agree that this is a crucial debate, which is why each of us supported Senator Tim Scott’s JUSTICE Act to provide for more accountability and transparency in law enforcement. But while we seek to support law enforcement, this debate has also exposed the radical voices of those who would ‘defund’ our police departments.”

“The brave men and women in our law enforcement community are essential to public safety and stability. We know that you and the Justice Department are doing everything you can to protect the lives of law enforcement, and to prosecute violent offenders who assault and kill law enforcement officers,” the senators continued. “However, given the attacks we are seeing against law enforcement officers, we believe it is time to consider whether your Department needs additional authorities, resources, and tools to combat this activity.”

This year, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Officer Tamarris L. Bohannon, and Springfield Police Department Officer Christopher Ryan Walsh, were fatally shot after responding to emergencies. In June, retired St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn was killed while protecting a friend’s business.

According to the FBI, thirty-seven law enforcement officers have been feloniously killed in 2020. During the previous year for the same time period, 30 officers were feloniously killed. At the time the 37 law enforcement officers were fatally wounded in 2020, eight were victims of an ambush and two were victims of an unprovoked attack.

The most recent unwarranted attack on law enforcement officers occurred this past weekend when three officers, two in Los Angeles County and one in New Mexico, were shot. When the Los Angeles officers were transported to area hospitals, protesters shouted that they hoped the officers would die, and blocked the entrance to the emergency room where the two officers were being treated.

In addition to Blunt, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (N.C.), John Cornyn (Texas), Pat Toomey (Pa.), James Inhofe (Okla.), David Perdue (Ga.), Susan Collins (Maine), Mike Braun (Ind.), Joni Ernst (Iowa), and Mike Rounds (S.D.).

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story