Bacon introduces bill increasing penalties for assaulting police

Nebraska Public Media | News

Congressman Don Bacon introduced legislation Thursday that would increase criminal penalties for anyone convicted of killing or conspiring to kill public safety officers. The so-called ‘Back the Blue Act’ would also create mandatory minimums for assaulting a federally funded law enforcement officer, which could include a firefighter, chaplain, federal judge or rescue squad member. If a death occurs, there is a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years. Attempting to flee to avoid prosecution carries a minimum of 10 years.