Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy,
Chairman,
Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
Executive Business Meeting,
on “The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2002,” S. 2480
November 14, 2002

I am pleased that the Committee is considering the “Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act,” S. 2480, which permits current and retired law enforcement officers to carry a firearm and be prepared to assist in dangerous situations.  I am proud that 41 Senators – including Committee Members Thurmond, McConnell, Edwards, Feinstein, Grassley, Sessions, Brownback, Cantwell, DeWine and Kyl – have joined me and Senator Hatch to cosponsor this bill in an effort to make our communities safer and better to protect law enforcement officers and their families.

At the Committee’s hearing on July 23 on this bill, we heard from many representatives of the law enforcement community, including the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Police Officers, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA), that national legislation is necessary because of the current patchwork of state and local conceal-carry laws.  I have also received letters of support for S. 2480 from a variety of Vermont law enforcement officials, including Chief Osburn Glidden of Williston, Officer Wade Johnson of Hinesburg, Chief Trevor Whipple of Barre, Officer Bonnie Hotchkiss of Barre, Sergeant Mike Manning and Sergeant David Yustin of the Vermont State Police, and nine Field Supervision Correctional Officers assigned to the Vermont Department of Corrections Barre Community Correctional Service Center.

I introduced this measure as a companion to H.R. 218, sponsored by Representative Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who joined us at the July 23 hearing to testify on the bill’s behalf.  The House bill has garnered 272 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle.  In both the House and the Senate there is strong bipartisan support for this legislation.

Our bipartisan bill addresses this need by establishing national measures of uniformity and consistency to permit law enforcement officers to respond immediately to a crime when off duty, as well as to protect officers and their families from vindictive criminals. 

There are approximately 740,000 sworn law enforcement officers currently serving in the United States.  Since the first recorded police death in 1792, there have been more than 16,200 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.  A total of 1,809 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty over the last decade, an average of 181 deaths per year.  In 2001 alone, there were 232 police deaths, representing a 49 percent increase from the 156 officers who died in 2000.  Roughly 5 percent of officers who die are killed taking law enforcement action while in an off duty capacity.  On average, more than 62,000 law enforcement officers are assaulted each year, resulting in some 21,000 injuries.

Until last year, violent crime in this country had declined each of the preceding 8 years.  Indeed, it had declined by 40 percent since it peaked at 4 million violent crimes in 1993.  Community policing and the outstanding work of so many law enforcement officers played a vital key in our crime control efforts.  Unfortunately, last year the downward trend in violent crime did not continue and violent crime turned upward.    

The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2002 is designed to protect officers and their families from vindictive criminals and to allow thousands of equipped, trained and certified law enforcement officers, whether on or off duty or retired, to carry concealed firearms in most situations, thus enabling them to respond immediately to a crime.

Off-duty and retired officers should be permitted to carry their firearms across State and other jurisdictional lines, at no cost to taxpayers, in order better to serve and protect our communities.  Our bill would permit qualified law enforcement officers and qualified retired law enforcement officers across the nation to carry concealed firearms in most situations.  It also preserves, however, any State law that permits citizens from restricting a concealed firearm on private property and preserves any State law that restricts the possession of a firearm on State or local government property.

To qualify for the bill’s uniform standards a law enforcement officer must be authorized to use a firearm by the law enforcement agency where he or she works, be in good standing with that agency, and meet any standards established by that agency to regularly qualify to use a firearm.

A qualified retired law enforcement officer under the bill must have retired in good standing, been employed at least five years as a law enforcement officer unless forced to retire due to a service-related injury, have a non-forfeitable right to benefits under the law enforcement agency’s retirement plan, and annually complete a State-approved firearms training course.

As a result, our bipartisan legislation maintains the State or local jurisdiction’s power to determine whether a law enforcement officer or retired law enforcement officer is qualified in the use of a firearm.

At our meeting in September, when we first turned to this legislation, we approved by voice vote Senator Durbin’s amendment to impose limits on who would qualify to carry weapons.  The Durbin amendment requires a retired officer to have served 15 years of regular employment for a law enforcement agency to qualify to carry concealed weapons, adjusting the time period from five years of law enforcement service, which was included in the original bill.  Another section of the Durbin amendment requires retired officers to meet the same firearms training qualifications as active duty law enforcement officers.

As a former State prosecutor, I know that law enforcement officers are never “off-duty.”  They are dedicated public servants trained to uphold the law and keep the peace.  When there is a threat to our public safety, law enforcement officers are sworn to answer that call.  The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act enables law enforcement officers in Vermont and across the nation to be armed and prepared when they answer that call, no matter where, when, or in what form it comes.

I hope that we can consider and pass this legislation to make our communities safer and better to protect law enforcement officers and their families without delay.

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