H.R. 1149 - The Justice for Public Safety Officers Act

On April 29, 2002, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy David March was brutally murdered execution-style during a routine traffic stop. His suspected killer, Armando Garcia, fled to Mexico within hours of Deputy March's death to elude prosecution by U.S. authorities. At the time, Mexico’s extradition policy complicated efforts to bring Armando Garcia back to the U.S.

Under federal law, it is a crime to kill a federal peace officer or state/local officers if they are engaged in a federal investigation. It is also a federal crime to flee to another country to avoid prosecution. However, such a crime is punishable by no more than five years in prison or even merely a fine. I believe that a fine or five years imprisonment for the cold-blooded murder of a law enforcement officer is tantamount to no justice at all.

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There is no reason that a heinous crime, such as the one in Deputy March's case, should not also be a federal crime. That is why I introduced H.R. 1149, the Justice for Public Safety Officers Act. This legislation adds substantial federal penalties to the crime of murdering a public safety officer by including provisions that impose a mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison for the murder of a public safety officer and an additional mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison for fleeing the country to avoid prosecution.

H.R. 1149 builds on legislation, HR. 3900, the Justice for Peace Officers Act that I introduced during the 109th Congress at the urging of Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. On November 9, 2005, the House approved H.R. 1751, the Secure Access to Justice and Court Protection Act, which included key provisions of H.R. 3900. Under the bill, killing a federally funded law enforcement officer is punishable by the death penalty, life imprisonment or a mandatory minimum of 30 years behind bars. The bill also adds a mandatory minimum 10 year penalty on top of the punishment for killing a law enforcement officer if the suspect flees the country to avoid prosecution. Unfortunately, this legislation was not signed into law.

It is absolutely essential that we provide our law enforcement officers with every tool possible to prosecute those who harm our public safety officers. H.R. 1149 would guarantee that these criminals receive punishment that is tantamount to the crimes that they commit.