Federal Law Enforcement Group Endorses Police Week Legislation
This week the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) supported several legislative items aimed at assisting law enforcement during Police Week. FLEOA began the week by announcing a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey over their preemption of the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA). On the legislative front, the organization representing some 28,000 federal law enforcement officers across 65 federal agencies supported initiatives ranging from assisting with the pandemic response to filling gaps in law enforcement protections abroad.
On Monday, FLEOA held a press conference announcing the LEOSA law suit against New Jersey in conjunction with the New Jersey State Fraternal Order of Police. In a statement, FLEOA President Larry Cosme explained that New Jersey has made it near impossible for former law enforcement to concealed carry in violation of their federal LEOSA rights.
"When an officer takes their oath to protect and serve their community, it does not end when the badge comes off and an officer retires. The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) acknowledges this fact and provides qualified, former law enforcement with the opportunity to continue serving the public after their retirement if they feel compelled. When Congress passed LEOSA with wide bipartisan support, they accepted that there are no better trained individuals to respond to a threat than qualified retired law enforcement officers,” said New Jersey FOP President Bob Fox.
Over the weekend, FLEOA also announced support for the Federal Frontline Worker Leave Protection Act (H.R. 6733), which would extend the period for frontline employees responding to the coronavirus pandemic to utilize annual leave, rather than losing it.
Also this week, FLEOA endorsed the introduction of the Federal Law Enforcement Handgun Commemoration Act which is a companion bill to H.R. 4798. This legislation would create a buy back system for federal agencies to allow retiring employees to buy their duty weapon.
"For decades, we have seen the government waste money and add to our greenhouse gas levels by destroying or melting down retired service weapons instead of providing agencies with the option to sell those service weapons back to the officers that have carried and trained with them,” said Cosme in a statement.
Finally, FLEOA supported today the introduction of legislation codify an increased penalty for attacking a federal employee abroad. The legislation is named in honor of fallen officer Jamie Zapata and his partner Victor Avila who were wounded in Mexico while investigating a cartel. The offenders were acquitted in a contested federal court case due to a hole in the law pertaining to attacks on federal employees abroad.
“When Special Agents Jamie Zapata and Victor Avila were deployed to Mexico to combat the drug cartel trade in 2011, they went willingly with the understanding that they had the full backing and support of the federal government. Now one court overturned those convictions and legal grounds that break decades of precedent, including with other federal judicial districts and ignores the will of Congress with this egregious decision,” Cosme explained in a statement. “Our mission with this bill is to ensure every federal law enforcement officer and employee sent overseas knows that the federal government has their back and if something happens, will vigorously pursue justice for them. We also want to ensure that the justice both the Zapata and Avila families had is not undone by a rogue court decision.”