“To amend title 18, United States Code, to punish criminal offenses targeting law enforcement officers, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a new federal criminal offense at 18 U.S.C. §120 for whoever willfully causes serious bodily injury to a law enforcement officer (or attempts to do so) because of the victim's status as such an officer, if the offense occurs under at least one of the following circumstances: (1) during the course of, or as a result of, travel by the defendant or victim across a state line or national border, or using a channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce; (2) in connection with the use by the defendant of a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive or incendiary device, or other weapon that has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce; (3) on federal property or in interference with federal actors; or (4) where the victim is a federal law enforcement officer. Penalties include imprisonment for not more than 10 years, a fine, or both; or imprisonment for any term of years or life, a fine, or both, if death results or the offense includes kidnapping (or an attempt to kidnap) or an attempt to kill. Federal prosecution requires written certification by the Attorney General (or designee) that either (1) the state has requested federal jurisdiction or (2) prosecution is in the public interest and necessary to secure substantial justice, considering factors such as any state verdict or sentence, premeditation, intended outcome, disregard for human life, and public safety benefits; however, this does not limit federal investigations or grand jury proceedings. The section defines "law enforcement officer" as a governmental employee authorized to prevent, detect, investigate, detain, or incarcerate for criminal violations and "state" to include states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories and possessions. It also makes a conforming amendment to the table of sections for Chapter 7 of title 18, U.S. Code.