Protect Our Heroes Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1617 To protect Federal, State, and local public safety officers. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 16, 2023 Mr. SULLIVAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To protect Federal, State, and local public safety officers. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Our Heroes 4 Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Law enforcement officers, first responders, 8 and public safety officials risk their lives every day 9 to serve and protect our neighborhoods and commu- 10 nities. 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1617.IS S1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1617 IS (2) These men and women are true public serv- 1 ants who regularly sacrifice and encounter grave 2 daily harm. 3 (3) The families of law enforcement officers, 4 first responders, and public safety officials also sac- 5 rifice and contribute to their roles as guardians of 6 the public good. 7 (4) In recent times, it has become apparent 8 that these women and men are being targeted inten- 9 tionally by criminals in our society. 10 (5) Congress must do all it can to promote a 11 system of law and order that enables law enforce- 12 ment officers, first responders, and public safety of- 13 ficials to properly do their jobs. 14 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS. 15 (a) KILLING OF PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS.— 16 (1) OFFENSE.—Chapter 51 of title 18, United 17 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 18 following: 19 ‘‘§ 1123. Killing of public safety officers 20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 21 ‘‘(1) the terms ‘Federal law enforcement officer’ 22 and ‘United States judge’ have the meanings given 23 those terms in section 115; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1617.IS S1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1617 IS ‘‘(2) the term ‘federally funded public safety of- 1 ficer’ means a public safety officer or judicial officer 2 for a public agency that— 3 ‘‘(A) receives Federal financial assistance; 4 and 5 ‘‘(B) is an agency of an entity that is a 6 State of the United States, the District of Co- 7 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 8 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 9 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is- 10 lands, or any territory or possession of the 11 United States, an Indian tribe, or a unit of 12 local government of that entity; 13 ‘‘(3) the term ‘firefighter’ includes an individual 14 serving as an officially recognized or designated 15 member of a legally organized volunteer fire depart- 16 ment and an officially recognized or designated pub- 17 lic employee member of a rescue squad or ambulance 18 crew; 19 ‘‘(4) the term ‘judicial officer’ means a judge or 20 other officer or employee of a court, including pros- 21 ecutors, court security, pretrial services officers, 22 court reporters, and corrections, probation, and pa- 23 role officers; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1617.IS S1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1617 IS ‘‘(5) the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means 1 an individual, with arrest powers, involved in crime 2 or juvenile delinquency control or reduction or en- 3 forcement of the laws; 4 ‘‘(6) the term ‘public agency’ includes a court 5 system, the National Guard of a State to the extent 6 the personnel of that National Guard are not in 7 Federal service, and the defense forces of a State 8 authorized by section 109 of title 32; and 9 ‘‘(7) the term ‘public safety officer’ means an 10 individual serving a public agency in an official ca- 11 pacity, as a law enforcement officer, as a firefighter, 12 as a chaplain, or as a member of a rescue squad or 13 ambulance crew. 14 ‘‘(b) OFFENSE.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any 16 person to, in any circumstance described in para- 17 graph (2), kill, or attempt or conspire to kill, a cur- 18 rent or former judicial officer or public safety offi- 19 cer, while the officer is engaged in official duties, or 20 on account of past performance of official duties. 21 ‘‘(2) CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED.—For pur- 22 poses of paragraph (1), a circumstance described in 23 this paragraph is— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1617.IS S1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1617 IS ‘‘(A) the conduct described in paragraph 1 (1) occurs during the course of, or as the result 2 of, the travel of the defendant or the victim— 3 ‘‘(i) across a State line or national 4 border; or 5 ‘‘(ii) using a channel, facility, or in- 6 strumentality of interstate or foreign com- 7 merce; 8 ‘‘(B) the defendant uses a channel, facility, 9 or instrumentality of interstate or foreign com- 10 merce in connection with the conduct described 11 in paragraph (1); 12 ‘‘(C) in connection with the conduct de- 13 scribed in paragraph (1), the defendant employs 14 a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive or in- 15 cendiary device, or other weapon that has trav- 16 eled in interstate or foreign commerce; 17 ‘‘(D) the conduct described in paragraph 18 (1)— 19 ‘‘(i) interferes with commercial or 20 other economic activity in which the victim 21 is engaged at the time of the conduct; or 22 ‘‘(ii) otherwise affects interstate or 23 foreign commerce; or 24 ‘‘(E) the victim is— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1617.IS S1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1617 IS ‘‘(i) a Federal law enforcement officer; 1 ‘‘(ii) a United States judge; or 2 ‘‘(iii) a federally funded public safety 3 officer. 4 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.— 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person that violates 6 subsection (b) shall be fined under this title and im- 7 prisoned for not less than 10 years or for life, or, 8 if death results, shall be sentenced to not less than 9 30 years and not more than life, or may be punished 10 by death. 11 ‘‘(2) DIRECTIVE TO COMMISSION.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to section 13 994 of title 28, the United States Sentencing 14 Commission shall promulgate guidelines or 15 amend existing guidelines to provide sentencing 16 enhancements of not less than 5 offense levels 17 for offenses where the finder of fact at trial de- 18 termines beyond a reasonable doubt that in the 19 commission of a violation of subsection (b), the 20 defendant lures the victim to a location for the 21 purpose of killing, or attempting to kill, the vic- 22 tim. 23 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—In carrying out this 24 paragraph, the United States Sentencing Com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1617.IS S1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1617 IS mission shall assure reasonable consistency with 1 other guidelines, avoid duplicative punishments 2 for substantially the same offense, and take 3 into account any mitigating circumstances 4 which might justify exceptions.’’. 5 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 6 for chapter 51 of title 18, United States Code, is 7 amended by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘1123. Killing of public safety officers.’’. (b) ASSAULT OF PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS.— 9 (1) OFFENSE.—Chapter 7 of title 18, United 10 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 11 following: 12 ‘‘§ 120. Assaults of public safety officers 13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 14 ‘‘(1) the term ‘federally funded public safety of- 15 ficer’ means a public safety officer or judicial officer 16 for a public agency that— 17 ‘‘(A) receives Federal financial assistance; 18 and 19 ‘‘(B) is an agency of an entity that is a 20 State of the United States, the District of Co- 21 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 22 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 23 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is- 24 lands, or any territory or possession of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1617.IS S1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1617 IS United States, an Indian tribe, or a unit of 1 local government of that entity; 2 ‘‘(2) the term ‘firefighter’ includes an individual 3 serving as an officially recognized or designated 4 member of a legally organized volunteer fire depart- 5 ment and an officially recognized or designated pub- 6 lic employee member of a rescue squad or ambulance 7 crew; 8 ‘‘(3) the term ‘judicial officer’ means a judge or 9 other officer or employee of a court, including pros- 10 ecutors, court security, pretrial services officers, 11 court reporters, and corrections, probation, and pa- 12 role officers; 13 ‘‘(4) the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means 14 an individual, with arrest powers, involved in crime 15 or juvenile delinquency control or reduction or en- 16 forcement of the laws; 17 ‘‘(5) the term ‘public agency’ includes a court 18 system, the National Guard of a State to the extent 19 the personnel of that National Guard are not in 20 Federal service, and the defense forces of a State 21 authorized by section 109 of title 32; and 22 ‘‘(6) the term ‘public safety officer’ means an 23 individual serving a public agency in an official ca- 24 pacity, as a law enforcement officer, as a firefighter, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1617.IS S1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1617 IS as a chaplain, or as a member of a rescue squad or 1 ambulance crew. 2 ‘‘(b) OFFENSE.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful, in any 4 circumstance described in paragraph (2), to assault, 5 or attempt to assault, a current or former judicial 6 officer or public safety officer, while the officer is 7 engaged in official duties, or on account of past per- 8 formance of official duties. 9 ‘‘(2) CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED.—For pur- 10 poses of paragraph (1), a circumstance described in 11 this paragraph is— 12 ‘‘(A) the conduct described in paragraph 13 (1) occurs during the course of, or as the result 14 of, the travel of the defendant or the victim— 15 ‘‘(i) across a State line or national 16 border; or 17 ‘‘(ii) using a channel, facility, or in- 18 strumentality of interstate or foreign com- 19 merce; 20 ‘‘(B) the defendant uses a channel, facility, 21 or instrumentality of interstate or foreign com- 22 merce in connection with the conduct described 23 in paragraph (1); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1617.IS S1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1617 IS ‘‘(C) in connection with the conduct de- 1 scribed in paragraph (1), the defendant employs 2 a firearm, dangerous weapon, explosive or in- 3 cendiary device, or other weapon that has trav- 4 eled in interstate or foreign commerce; 5 ‘‘(D) the conduct described in paragraph 6 (1)— 7 ‘‘(i) interferes with commercial or 8 other economic activity in which the victim 9 is engaged at the time of the conduct; or 10 ‘‘(ii) otherwise affects interstate or 11 foreign commerce; or 12 ‘‘(E) the victim is— 13 ‘‘(i) a Federal law enforcement officer; 14 ‘‘(ii) a United States judge; or 15 ‘‘(iii) a federally funded public safety 16 officer. 17 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person that violates 19 subsection (b) shall be subject to a fine under this 20 title and— 21 ‘‘(A) if the assault resulted in bodily injury 22 (as defined in section 1365), shall be impris- 23 oned not less than 2 years and not more than 24 10 years; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1617.IS S1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1617 IS ‘‘(B) if the assault resulted in substantial 1 bodily injury (as defined in section 113), shall 2 be imprisoned not less than 5 years and not 3 more than 20 years; 4 ‘‘(C) if the assault resulted in serious bod- 5 ily injury (as defined in section 1365), shall be 6 imprisoned for not less than 10 years; 7 ‘‘(D) if a deadly or dangerous weapon was 8 used during and in relation to the assault, shall 9 be imprisoned for not less than 20 years; and 10 ‘‘(E) shall be imprisoned for not more than 11 1 year in any other case. 12 ‘‘(2) DIRECTIVE TO COMMISSION.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to section 14 994 of title 28, the United States Sentencing 15 Commission shall promulgate guidelines or 16 amend existing guidelines to provide sentencing 17 enhancements of not less than 5 offense levels 18 for offenses where the finder of fact at trial de- 19 termines beyond a reasonable doubt that in the 20 commission of a violation of subsection (b), the 21 defendant lures the victim to a location for the 22 purpose of assaulting, or attempting to assault, 23 the victim. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1617.IS S1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1617 IS ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—In carrying out this 1 paragraph, the United States Sentencing Com- 2 mission shall assure reasonable consistency with 3 other guidelines, avoid duplicative punishments 4 for substantially the same offense, and take 5 into account any mitigating circumstances 6 which might justify exceptions.’’. 7 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 8 for chapter 7 of title 18, United States Code, is 9 amended by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘120. Assaults of public safety officers.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1617.IS S1617 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB