GOP lawmakers introduce bill making murder of law enforcement officials a federal crime

Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Tuesday introduced bills in their respective chambers that would make it a federal crime to murder a state or local law enforcement official, calling for a punishment of life in prison or the death penalty for persons convicted of the crime.

“An attack on those who ‘protect and serve’ us is an attack on our communities and the rule of law,” Herrell said in a statement on the Defending our Defenders Act.

“It cannot stand — we must defend those who defend us so selflessly and bravely. They have our backs, we must have theirs,” she added.

Cotton previously introduced the proposal in September with then-Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.). At the time, the bill was put forward under the same name.

“Criminals who cut short the lives of our brave officers should be met with the fiercest penalties,” Cotton said in a statement on Tuesday.

He continued, “Killing a police officer not only ends a precious human life — it’s also an assault against the safety of every American who lives in the community that officer protects. Our bill will subject those who murder police to a punishment they deserve, life in prison or the death penalty.”

According to current law, the murder of a federal officer is already a federal crime, but Herrell and Cotton’s proposal would expand this provision to include state and local officers as well.

“While it is already a federal crime to kill a federal officer, the murder of any police officer undermines the fabric of our nation’s society and threatens the rule of law,” a summary of the bill obtained by The Hill reads. “Anyone willing to kill a police officer would not hesitate to kill a civilian.”

According to Herrell’s statement, an offender could be subject to a life sentence or the death penalty if “certain aggravating factors are met.”

These factors include “intent to ambush a police officer, prior statements advocating or promoting violence against law enforcement, participation or affiliation with anarchist or other violence promoting groups, prior threats against law enforcement, or if the murder occurred during organized anti-law enforcement activity,” the statement reads. 

According to statistics cited by Herrell from the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, 56 officers died in the line of duty because of “felonious acts” in 2018. In 2019, that number was 48, and in 2020, it rose to 59.