ATTACKS AGAINST COPS SHOULD BE PROSECUTED AS HATE CRIMES

The Fraternal Order of Police wants attacks against cops which are motivated by an anti-police bias to be prosecuted as hate crimes

Angry over the assassination of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu and alarmed over the death threats being made against cops, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the nation’s largest police union with more than 300,000 members, urged President Obama and Congressional leaders on Monday to expand the Congressional Hate Crimes Statute to include attacks against cops when those attacks are motivated by an anti-police bias.

Jim Pasco, executive director of the national FOP says:

“Right now, it’s a hate crime if you attack someone solely because of the color of their skin, but it ought to be a hate crime if you attack someone solely because of the color of their uniform as well.”

And Chuck Canterbury, president of the national FOP says:

“Enough is enough! It’s time for Congress to do something to protect the men and women who protect us.”

The union expressed the belief that most ambush attacks against cops stem from hatred for the police. Yahoo News reports that “according to FBI statistics, about 21.7 percent of non-accidental law enforcement deaths since 2004 were ambush attacks.”

21.7 percent is a significant number and it does not take into account the number of hate-motivated attacks in which the cops were not killed. Those attacks warrant expanding the hate crimes statute to include attacks against cops when those attacks are motivated by an anti-police bias.

Look for Republicans to support such a measure if it gets introduced in the Congress and look for some Democrats to oppose it.