Return to flip book view

WASHINGTON WATCHN A T I O N A L F R A T E R N A L O R D E R O F P O L I C E W E E K L Y U P D A T E | 3 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3L E G I S L A T I V E U P D A T EJIM PASCOPATRICK YOES THE VOICE OF OUR NATION'S LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERSExecutive DirectorNational President- Subscribe to the FOP’s Weekly Update -

LEGISLATIVE NEWS & ACTIVITYNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE @GLFOP@FOPNATIONALNational President Patrick Yoes and Members of the Executive Board traveled toNashville, Tennessee to participate in the National FOP's Wellness Summit, anannual training event hosted by the National Officer Wellness Committee. TheSummit featured powerful and informative seminars and presentations,nationally renowned speakers as well as panel discussions with experts workingin the field.National President Patrick Yoes and Members of the Executive Board traveled toNashville, Tennessee to participate in the National FOP's Leadership Matterstraining, which offers FOP leaders the opportunity to learn the skills to become aa more successful leader and acquire the tools needed to represent theirmembers.National President Patrick Yoes participated in Police Week planning meeting.

LEGISLATIVE NEWS & ACTIVITYNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE @GLFOP@FOPNATIONALLISTEN TO EPISODE CLICK TO SUBSCRIBEOn last week's episode of the Blue View, National President Patrick Yoes satdown with a remarkable young man, Zechariah Cartledge, the founder of Running4 Heroes, and his father, Chad Cartledge. A fan favorite throughout the lawenforcement community, Zechariah started Running 4 Heroes in 2019 when hewas 10 years old. The organization supports injured First Responders, K9’s, andfamilies of fallen first responders and also honors them with a 1-mile run. National President Patrick Yoes gave numerous media interviews regarding lawenforcement challenges on the horizon, the increase of violence toward lawenforcement officers across the country, and the recruitment and retention crisis.National Sergeant-at-Arms Keith Turney and Executive Director Jim Pasco joined U.S.Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and other stakeholder groups at the AttorneyGeneral’s quarterly meeting. National President Patrick Yoes, who usually attends thismeeting, was in Nashville for the Leadership Matters seminar.

LEGISLATIVE NEWS & ACTIVITYREGISTER FOR THE EVENT VIEW BRIEFING MATERIALSNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE @GLFOP@FOPNATIONALNational Sergeant-at-Arms Keith Turney also represented the FOP at a follow-up meetingwith the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and its Director Kahrlton Moore to discussthe recruitment and retention crisis in law enforcement.At the invitation of U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Executive Director JimPasco attended the swearing-in ceremony of Hugh T. Clements, Jr. to be the nextDirector of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) in the U.S.Department of Justice (DOJ).

LEGISLATIVE NEWS & ACTIVITYNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE @GLFOP@FOPNATIONALExecutive Director Jim Pasco met with Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary for the U.S.Department of Homeland Security, to discuss the aftermath of the events in Memphis,Tennessee, the fentanyl crisis, and border security issues.Executive Director Jim Pasco and Senior Legislative Liaison TimRichardson participated in a conference call with theircounterparts at the International Association of Chiefs of Police(IACP) and staff in the office of Senator Cory A. Booker (D-NJ) todiscuss police reform.Executive Director Jim Pasco spoke with Vanita Gupta, U.S. Associate Attorney General,to discuss the aftermath of the events in Memphis, Tennessee as well as State and locallaw enforcement assistance grants administered by the BJA and COPS.Executive Director Jim Pasco met with Kristen Clarke, Assistant U.S. Attorney General forCivil Rights to discuss the aftermath of the events in Memphis, Tennessee and otherareas of mutual concern.Executive Director Jim Pasco spoke with Heather J. Fong, Senior Counselor to theSecretary for Law Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to raise ourconcerns about the numerous leadership vacancies in the Department.Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson represented the FOP on a stakeholder callwith Hope Janke, Director of the Public Safety Officers Benefits (PSOB) program, andKahrlton Moore, Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), to discuss thePSOB programs, the status of claims related to COVID-19 and service-connectedsuicide.

LEG I SLA T IVE NEW S & A CTI V ITYNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE @GLFOP@FOPNATIONALSenior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson represented the FOP on a follow-up call withofficials in the Office for State and Local Law Enforcement in U.S. Department ofHomeland Security regarding proposed changes to the FY23 Grant guidance related tothe “law enforcement terrorism prevention activities” requirement of the HomelandSecurity Grant Program. Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson and LegislativeLiaison Asa Render met with leadership staff in the office ofthe House Majority Leader, Representative Steven J. Scalise(R-LA), to discuss the “Protect and Serve Act,” the “Homesfor Every Local Protector, Educator, and Responder (HELPER)Act,” and other FOP priorities.Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson and LegislativeLiaison Asa Render met with staff in the office of SenatorTheodore P. Budd (R-NC) to discuss the “LEOSA Reform Act”and other legislation important to the FOP.Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson and Legislative Liaison Asa Render met withstaff in the office of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to discuss FOP priorities and police reform.Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson and Legislative Liaison Asa Render met withstaff in the office of T. Johnathan Ossoff (D-GA) to discuss the “Protect and Serve Act,”the “Homes for Every Local Protector, Educator, and Responder (HELPER) Act,” andother FOP priorities.

LEG I SLA T IVE NEW S & A CTI V ITYSenior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson spoke with staff inthe office of Representative Peter A. Stauber (R-MN) regardingthe “Public Safety Employer Employee Cooperation Act.”Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson and LegislativeLiaison David Taboh represented the FOP on a stakeholder callwith staff from the offices of Representatives Garret N. Graves(R-LA) and Abigail A. Spanberger (D-VA) to discuss ongoingadvocacy for H.R. 82, the “Social Security Fairness Act.”NATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE @GLFOP@FOPNATIONALSenior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson spoke with staff in the office of SenatorJacklyn S. Rosen (D-NV) to discuss legislation to create a presumption for Federal lawenforcement officers for workman’s compensation claims that involve certain illnessesand cancers from environmental exposures.Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson and Legislative Liaison AsaRender met with staff in the office of Representative C.A. “Dutch”Ruppersberger (D-MD) to discuss draft legislation to assist localagencies with recruitment, the “Homes for Every Local Protector,Educator, and Responder (HELPER) Act,” and other FOP priorities.Senior Legislative Liaison Tim Richardson spoke with staff in the office ofRepresentative John H. Rutherford (R-FL) regarding the “Protect and Serve Act” and the“Homes for Every Local Protector, Educator, and Responder (HELPER) Act.”

THI S WE E K I N WA S HIN G TON@GLFOP@FOPNATIONALNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICEThe White House announced that it plans to end the COVID-19 public healthemergency on 11 May. It was first put in place in January 2020 and has remainedin effect since then. The unwinding of the public health emergency wouldterminate the enforcement of Title 42, as its enactment is linked to theemergency. In addition, the COVID presumption for line of duty deaths for lawenforcement officers, which states that any law enforcement officer whocontracts COVID and dies is presumed to have caught it in the line of duty, wouldend. Officers who contract COVID-19 after this date would still be able to file aclaim but would have to link their contraction of the disease to their line of dutyactions.THE WHITE HOUSEVice President Kamala D. Harris traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to attend anddeliver remarks at the funeral for Tyre Nichols. National President Patrick Yoesreleased a statement last week, which expressed that he was appalled by thebrutal assault on Tyre Nichols. In his statement, National President Yoes said:“The event as described to us does not constitute legitimatepolice work or a traffic stop gone wrong. This is a criminalassault under the pretext of law... According to reports, thefact that none of those officers—NONE of them—acted tostop this vicious attack, only compounds my horror—it issickening. The men arrested and charged for this crime haverights, the presumption of innocence, and the due processprotections of anyone accused of a crime. But the bottom linehere is that Tyre Nichols, his family, and our entire countryneed to see justice done—swiftly and surely.”

THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESTHI S WE E K I N WA S HIN G TON@GLFOP@FOPNATIONALNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICEThe House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing entitled: “The Biden BorderCrisis: Part 1.”The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing entitled:“Federal Pandemic Spending: A Prescription for Waste, Fraud and Abuse.”The House considered and passed H. Res. 76 on a 218-211 vote. The resolutionremoved Representative Ilhan A. Omar (D-MN) from the House Committee onForeign Affairs.THE UNITED STATES SENATEThe Senate Committee on the Judiciary favorably reported the nomination ofNusrat Jahan Choudhury to be a United States District Judge for the EasternDistrict of New York. The FOP previously issued a statement on her nomination,expressing outrage by her comment that, "cops kill unarmed Black men in Americaevery single day," which she denied making in a written statement after thehearing. The nomination now goes to the Senate floor for further action.

TOP LEG I SLA T IVE PRI O RIT I ES@GLFOP@FOPNATIONALNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICESOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS ACTThis bill would repeal both the "Windfall Elimination Provision" and the "Government PensionOffset" in current Social Security law.LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS’ EQUITY ACTThis bill would expand the definition of "law enforcement officer" for salary and retirementbenefits to include all Federal law enforcement officers.COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTSThe “Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act” would recognize the right of lawenforcement and other public safety officers to bargain collectively with their employers.LEOSA REFORM ACTThe bill would amend the Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act (LEOSA), exempting qualifiedactive and retired law enforcement officers from local and State prohibitions on the carriage ofconcealed firearms, to ensure that these officers are able to carry in the same venues as civilianconcealed carry permit holders and extends the exemption to magazine capacity. It would allowactive and retired law enforcement to access services at some Federal buildings and offices.PROTECT AND SERVE ACTThe bill would make it a Federal crime to target a law enforcement officer with an assault thatresults in seriously bodily harm or death.MORE RESOURCES LIST OF BILLS SUPPORTEDNOT YET INTRODUCED IN THE SENATENOT YET INTRODUCED IN THE HOUSE NOT YET INTRODUCED IN THE SENATENOT YET INTRODUCED IN THE HOUSE NOT YET INTRODUCED IN THE SENATENOT YET INTRODUCED IN THE SENATEH.R. 82128 COSPONSORSR: 38 D: 90H.R. 35422 COSPONSORSR: 22 D: 0NOT YET INTRODUCED IN THE SENATEH.R. 7435 COSPONSORSR: 2 D: 3

FOP NEWS ROOMThe National Fraternal Order of Police regrets to reportthat as of midnight on 31 January, there have been 34officers shot in the line of duty so far in 2023; up +113%from this time in 2020... MoreUPDATE: Officers Shot and Killed in the Line ofDuty So Far This Year@GLFOP@FOPNATIONALNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICEMore officers were shot in the line of duty in January thanthere were days in the month, according to statisticsreleased Wednesday by the National Fraternal Order ofPolice... More34 officers shot in the line of duty in January; up89% from 2021 [The Washington Times]A 30-year-old councilwoman in the borough of Sayreville,New Jersey, was found shot to death in her car onWednesday, according to authorities... MoreNew Jersey councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour shotand killed, authorities say [CNN]Through this opportunity, the Bureau of JusticeAssistance seeks applications for funding programs thatsupport cross-system collaboration to improve publicsafety responses and outcomes for individuals... MoreAVAILABLE FUNDING: FY 2023 Justice andMental Health Collaboration Program“The event as described to us does not constitutelegitimate police work or a traffic stop gone wrong,” Yoessaid.“ This is a criminal assault under the pretext of law.The Memphis Police Department... MoreICYMI: FOP National President “Infuriated” byDescription of Assault by Memphis Officers

BLUE VIE W PO DCAS TTHE BLUE VIEW PODCASTSUBSCRIBE@GLFOP@FOPNATIONALNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICELISTEN NOWON A MISSION TO HONOR OURFALLEN HEROESwith Zechariah and Chad CartledgeNational FOP President Patrick Yoes sitsdown with a remarkable young man,Zechariah Cartledge, the founder of Running 4 Heroes. Joining them is ChadCartledge, Zechariah's father and CEO ofRunning 4 Heroes... MORELISTEN NOWPRIORITY FOR POLICE: OFFICERHEALTH AND WELLNESSwith Sherri MartinWorking in law enforcement, where officersshow up and suit up every day to serve theircommunities, can be a stressful job. Somestudies show that the average officerexperiences more traumatic events in 6months than the average person... MORE

LEARN MORE LEARN MORELEARN MORELEARN MOREOn the Blue View, a weekly podcastpresented by the National FraternalOrder of Police, you'll hear fromlaw enforcement experts, electedofficials, and other notable leadersto gain insight into the issues andcurrent events surrounding the lawenforcement community. The Collaborative Reform InitiativeTechnical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC) provides no cost, customizedtechnical assistance solutionsdesigned to meet the unique needsof state, local, tribal, & campus lawenforcement agencies throughoutthe United States.The COPS Office awards grants tohire community policingprofessionals, develop and testinnovative policing strategies, andprovide training and technicalassistance to community members,local government leaders, and alllevels of law enforcement. The Office of Justice Programs (OJP)provides innovative leadership toFederal, state, local, and tribal justicesystems, by disseminating state-of-the art knowledge and practices, andproviding grants for theimplementation of these crimefighting strategies. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICEOFFICE OF JUSTICEPROGRAMSADDI TION AL R ESOU RCES@GLFOP@FOPNATIONALNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE

@GLFOP@FOPNATIONALNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE

DONATEClick HereDONATEClick HereCAN YOU CHIP IN $5?The Fraternal Order of Police is committed to improving the working conditionsof law enforcement officers and the safety of those we serve through education,legislation, information, community involvement, and employee representation. The National FOP Political Action Committee (NFOP PAC) is the power behindour organization's punch on Capitol Hill, representing its members in the mosteffective way possible.Our challenge to you is to have each and every FOP member in your department,lodge, and State commit $5.00 a month to the NFOP PAC. Please contact theNational Legislative Office to learn about the various ways you can contribute tothe NFOP PAC. POLI TICA L AC TION COM MITT EE@GLFOP@FOPNATIONALNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE

TIM RICHARDSONSenior Legislative Liaison JIM PASCOExecutive DirectorMARK MCDONALDLegislative Liaison DAVID TABOHLegislative Liaison 328 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NE, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20002PHONE: 202-547-8189 ▪ FAX: 202-547-8190WASHINGTON, D.C. STAFF@GLFOP@FOPNATIONALNATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICEASA RENDERLegislative Liaison