Legislation that would increase penalties for criminals who target law enforcement professionals was reintroduced in the Senate Thursday by a group of Republican lawmakers.
They include Sen. Mike Braun (Ind.), Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and more.
“The Thin Blue Line Act makes the targeting, killing, or attempted killing of a police officer an aggravating factor in favor of maximum sentences,” according to a press release from Braun about the bill. “Currently this applies to federal law enforcement; the Thin Blue Line Act would apply this to local and state police as well.”
“Our first responders are heroes [who] make a choice, each and every day, to put themselves in harm’s way to keep our communities safe,” said Cruz. “This important legislation will put criminals on notice that if they target our police officers, firefighters, and first responders, they will pay the highest penalty the law allows.”
Braun’s press release mentioned that 34 police officers were shot in the U.S. during January. According to data released in November by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 73 police officers in the country died in the line of duty due to “felonious acts” in 2021. That number represented a 27% increase compared to 2020. Additionally, the FBI said that 43,649 officers were assaulted while performing their duties in 2021.
According to the University of Illinois at Chicago Law Enforcement Epidemiology Project, an estimated 250,000 civilian injuries are caused by law enforcement officers annually and more than 600 people are killed by law enforcement in the U.S. every year.
Previously, legislation called the “Thin Blue Line Act” was introduced in January 2017. In April of that year, the American Civil Liberties Union sent out a letter in opposition to the bill.
“The ACLU opposes the Thin Blue Line Act because expanding the number of aggravating factors that would subject a person to the death penalty is unnecessary and duplicative, counterproductive to improving law enforcement and community relations, and unlikely to prevent future violence against police,” said the organization.
Per Braun’s press release, the senator decided to reintroduce the bill in the 118th Congress “after Indiana officer Noah Shahnavaz was killed by a career violent criminal who had previously shot at Indianapolis police and struck a police cruiser multiple times during a chase, but ended up back on the streets after serving 13 years of a 25-year sentence.”
Shahnavaz was 24 years old, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
“This bill has the support of all four major police organizations in Indiana, as well as the support of several national police organizations,” said Braun’s office.
In addition to Braun and Cruz, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Kennedy (R-La.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), and Ted Budd (R-N.C) helped to reintroduce the bill.
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