Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) introduced a bill in the House on Thursday to enshrine into federal law that the murder of law enforcement officers is a crime punishable by life in prison or the death penalty.
The bill would add language to existing federal law to note that those who commit murder against a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer, specifically, must face the maximum penalties of either life imprisonment or death, as long as certain factors are met.
“The Defund the Police movement and soft-on-crime policies from the far-left have severely handicapped police officers’ ability to confront skyrocketing crime rates and have put these brave men and women in more danger than ever,” Garcia said in a statement about the bill.
He added, “We must do more to take care of our heroic law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe.”
Garcia first cosponsored the bill last Congress and though it had more than two dozen Republican backers, it never made it to the House floor for a vote while Democrats had majority control of the chamber.
The newly reintroduced bill is called the Sgt. Steve Owen Defending Our Defenders Act, named for a longtime officer murdered on the job in Garcia’s district in 2016 by a man with prior criminal convictions.
Garcia’s office said the bill has support from several local and national police groups, including the National Association of Police Organizations, the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the Major County Sheriffs of America, and the California Coalition of Law Enforcement Associations.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), a leading voice in the Senate on reducing crime, introduced the Senate version of Garcia’s bill last year and is reintroducing it again this year.
Sen. Tom Cotton questions Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson during her Senate confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“Law enforcement officers dedicate their lives to defending the rule of law and protecting their fellow citizens. An attack on an officer is an attack on our democracy, and those criminals must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Cotton said in a statement. “This bill will subject those who murder police to a punishment they deserve, life in prison or the death penalty.”
Sixty-four police officers were shot and killed on the job in 2022, which is the same number shot and killed in 2021, according to a report from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
The data represents a “disturbing trend of an increase in firearms-related deaths” of officers compared to at least the last two decades, which saw an annual average of 53 officers and 57 officers, respectively, killed in firearms-related incidents, according to the report.
Garcia said, “It is critical that we pass this legislation to ensure our law enforcement officers have the protection necessary to do their jobs effectively. The men and women who protect us every day deserve to know that we have their back.”
Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com. Follow her on Twitter at @asholiver.