Homeland Republicans To AG Garland: Violence Against Law Enforcement Officers Is An Assault On Justice

WASHINGTON, DC – Republican Members of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the American Security Task Force sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland expressing serious concerns about the troubling increase in violence against law enforcement officers across the United States.

“As you are likely aware, violence against law enforcement officers has become a troubling pattern across the United States, culminating most recently in violent shooting deaths of officers in New York City and Houston. Sadly, this violence is part of an upward national trend. According to the National Fraternal Order of Police, in 2021 there were 346 officers shot in the line of duty, including 63 deaths. Of these, 103 were ‘ambush style attacks,’ which increased 115 percent over the prior year. Data compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also showed a 48.7 percent increase in 2021 of officer killings, totaling 73 deaths from ‘firearms, vehicles, knives, and other personal weapons.’ These grim statistics represent the highest number of law enforcement who were intentionally killed since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001,” the Members wrote.

“As the Attorney General, it is incumbent upon you to leverage the resources of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to help promote and protect the safety and wellbeing of your federal, state, and local law enforcement partners across the United States. The above data is contextualized by a nationwide crisis of surging violence against law enforcement officers and the public they serve. American communities are under assault by violent criminals, and the police departments sworn to protect them are under assault, as well. Simply put: Violence against law enforcement is an assault on justice,” the Members concluded.

Read the full letter here.

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