Representative Trey Hollingsworth Introduces New Legislation Geared Towards Law Enforcement

Press Release

Last week, as National Police Week came to a close, Representative Trey Hollingsworth introduced H.R. 2561, the Protecting Officers of the Law in Civilian Establishments (POLICE) Act of 2017. This legislation aims to protect law enforcement officers from becoming vulnerable targets and potential victims by changing existing language that prohibits them from remaining armed when entering publicly accessible civilian buildings with low-level security designations, such as Veterans Administration hospitals and local Social Security Administration offices.

Currently, under existing law, officers must remove their firearms before entering these facilities when not responding to emergencies, making them vulnerable to attack and potentially unable to adequately respond to developing situations. Because law enforcement officers and their families undergo a tremendous amount of stress with long hours and dangerous work, they often are required to tend to personal business in the middle of the work day, such as medical appointments over a lunch hour or even paperwork appointments before or after their shifts. It is unfortunate that federal law requires the very law enforcement officers entrusted to protect and respond to these facilities during a crisis to disarm, essentially positioning these officers in significant danger considering that uniformed law enforcement officers already are highly visible targets to those wishing to cause harm to men and women in uniform.

"A lot is asked from the men and women who wear the shield of a police officer," said Rep. Trey Hollingsworth. "The very nature of their job involves dangers that must be met without hesitation or reservation. With responsibilities such as these, unnecessary hurdles should not exist that would prevent a duly sworn and readily identifiable law enforcement officer from carrying their firearm into certain civilian facilities that rely on these very officers to respond in instances of emergency. The trust we place in these individuals does not end at the door frame of a federal building and neither should our laws."

The POLICE Act, which enables readily identifiable law enforcement officers to remain armed in federal buildings with low-level security designations that are publicly accessible, was written by Representative Hollingsworth after consultation with a constituent of Indiana's 9th District who has worked in law enforcement for decades.

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