Republicans, led by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced a bill to increase penalties for those who target law enforcement officers. He did so after Texas lost the most officers in the line of duty last year.
Cruz filed the Thin Blue Line Act, which amends Title 18, United States Code, to enhance penalties for convicted murderers who kill or target public safety officers.
It’s already illegal under federal law to kill or attempt to kill federal law enforcement officers, judges and correctional officers. Current law allows for an aggravating factor to be considered when deciding whether to impose the death penalty in a federal charge. The bill would add to the aggregating factor list if the defendant killed or attempted to kill state and local police officers, firefighters and other first responders.
“Violent crimes targeting law enforcement demand immediate action. These crimes should never be tolerated,” Cruz said. “Every day, members of law enforcement risk their lives to protect our communities and they deserve the full protection of the law. I am proud to introduce this common-sense legislation to ensure that acts of murder or attempted murder against law enforcement will be met with maximum penalties.”
US Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Florida, who filed the companion bill in the House, said, “After four years of an administration that prioritized protecting criminals and illegals over our brave men and women of law enforcement, it’s time to show that we have their backs.”
The bill previously passed the House with broad bipartisan support and went nowhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate. It has no Democratic cosponsors; nine Republican Senate cosponsors and 13 Republican House cosponsors.
The number of law enforcement professionals nationwide who died in the line of duty in 2024 increased 25% compared to the previous year, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. In 2024, 147 federal, state, county, municipal, military, tribal, and campus officers died in the line of duty, up from 118 in 2023.
“The leading cause of these line-of-duty deaths for police officers in 2024 was gunfire, and the largest increase over 2023 resulted from traffic-related incidents, both underscoring the growing risks faced by law enforcement officers in the line of duty,” the NLEOMF states.
Texas reported the largest number of law enforcement fatalities nationwide last year of 18 line-of-duty deaths. New York reported the second highest number of 17; federal agencies reported 10; Illinois reported nine; Florida, eight. Fifteen states reported none.
Fraternal Order of Police president Patrick Yoes said that, “Law enforcement officers have always faced threats while on duty – it is nothing new. Although we go to work each day to protect others.” Under the Biden administration, an anti-police climate escalated and “within the past few years, officers have become a target for violence solely because of the uniform they wear.”
Being targeted to be killed because of the uniform “should not be ‘part of the job’,” he said, “to be a target for someone who is looking to simply kill or injure a cop.” The bill “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.”
Under the Biden administration, violent crime increased as a result of a defund the police movement, Republican lawmakers have argued. While the FBI initially reported crime was down, it was because data was left out, a RealClearInvestigations found. The crime rate was initially reported to have dropped by 1.7% when it actually increased by 4.9%, according to a revised report released by the FBI. An FBI spokesperson later explained that different data sets were used to account for the discrepancy.
Similarly, in the largest crime-ridden city of Texas, the former Houston Police Department chief claimed the crime rate was down when the HPD didn’t investigate 264,000 crime reports, including violent crimes and sexual assaults, The Center Square reported. Leaving out the data produced a faulty crime rate and the police chief was forced to resign.
