Save the Date for This Special Event; Every State Needs This Type of Bill

And yes, we still have a lot of work ahead

The war on police goes beyond being shot at, stabbed, kicked, punched, and ambushed in near-record numbers. That alone is a tragedy. Because of the uniform they wear, officers are also menaced, harassed, and threatened. You’ve likely read stories in which people have thrown liquid (including urine) on them, pointed lasers at them, and issued threats.

As egregious as these acts are, not all states recognize them as crimes under penal law. New York state is one of these.

Thankfully, Sen. Anthony Palumbo has introduced legislation (S. 615) to close these gaps in New York state by criminalizing these acts. This bill creates two new criminal offenses.

First-degree menacing of an officer would be defined by intentionally placing an officer in fear of physical danger by displaying a deadly weapon. It would be classified as a C felony and punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

A second-degree offense would include assaulting an officer by throwing or spraying water, urine, or other substances. It would be classified as a D felony and punishable by up to seven years in prison.

These acts (and the non-criminalization of them) demoralize officers and place them and the public they serve, at risk. An officer has no way of knowing whether the substance being thrown at them is just water (still unacceptable!) or something that can harm them. It puts them on alert and distracts them from performing their job.

Please considering lobbying for a similar bill in your state.

If you need help determining if similar legislation is already active in your state or you’d would like ideas for approaching your own state legislators, please let me know.

Save the Date!

For this National Police Week, I’m putting the bulk of my energy into hosting a national citizen lobby week.

Several other organizations are already on board, including National Police Association, Police Officers’ Defense Coalition, American Peace Officer, Committee to Save Our City (NYC), and Independent Women’s Network (Arizona chapter). More will be added in the near future.

The goal of this event is to use National Police Week as an opportunity to collectively flood our federal legislator’s offices with calls to support key federal police and public safety bills.

There will be opportunities for all police supporters to participate, regardless of their time commitment.

In the meantime, here’s you how can participate now:

• Help get the word out about this event by sharing this flyer or post with others who support law enforcement. I’ll be creating updated flyers, but for now I’d like people to start thinking in advance;

• Let me know about any personal stories you’re willing to publicly share about a police officer who has been affected by rogue prosecutions; has been assaulted or menaced; or is in a jurisdiction with weakened qualified immunity protections. Personal stories will help us make our case;

• If you’re a police or public safety organization, let me know if you’re interested in joining our coalition.

Stay tuned to future posts for details.

Our Uphill Battle

At the start of the year, I was heartened by the number of federal pro-police and -public safety bills being introduced. Co-sponsorships seem to have slowed since then.

On one hand, yes, there’s a lot happening domestically and globally right now, and policing is but one issue of many. It also takes time for legislators to study a proposed bill before putting their names on it.

And I get that this issue isn’t sexy or attention-grabbing, at least not like some other popular issues currently in vogue and dominating the news and social media timelines.

Yet Americans overwhelmingly demand safe streets and want well-trained police officers to enforce our laws.

This will require locking in bills that do things like incentivize states to allow district attorneys and judges to consider an offender’s danger to society when determining bail and pretrial conditions. It also means protecting police officers from the myriad of attacks they now confront, including being prosecuted for using justifiable force, getting assaulted for wearing a uniform, and having qualified immunity protections challenged.

While we should indeed feel better about our current trajectory, the uphill battle we face in getting key bills passed is quite real. Complacency is ill-advised.

This is why we’re hosting a citizen’s lobby week, and why we need to harness the voices of all police supporters. We have no idea what’s going to happen in the mid-terms; even trying to pass bills in the current environment isn’t a slam dunk.

Our time to get these bills passed isn’t next year or the year after that. It’s now.

Please share your thoughts on any of this and I hope you have an amazing weekend. : )

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For the Blue is a solutions-based initiative. I’m just an American patriot asking questions. I don’t work with any political party and I answer to nobody. For me, the health of the nation, due process (including for police officers), the rule of law, and respect for individual liberties, will always transcend party affiliation. I welcome your thoughts, even if you disagree; though personal attacks will be ignored. You can reach me at fortheblue@substack.com.