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Durbin Announces New Bill to Honor Chicago Police Officer Ella French

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered an opening statement during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "Law Enforcement Officer Safety: Protecting Those Who Protect and Serve." The hearing focuses on the threat that the nation's gun violence epidemic poses to law enforcement officers. Durbin remembered Chicago Police Officer Ella French, who was shot and killed from a gun that had been straw-purchased from Indiana. He emphasized that the bill will provide funding to multi-jurisdictional taskforces that investigate and disrupt straw purchasing and illegal firearms trafficking.

Key Takeaways:

  • Firearm-related fatalities were the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths in 2021, after COVID-19, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF).
  • Gaps in gun laws, rolling back of existing gun safety laws, and the proliferation of assault weapons pose direct threats to officer safety.
  • Officer French was a person who embodied selflessness and was known for picking up stray dogs in her squad car and ferrying them to safety.
  • The gun that was used to kill her and seriously injure Officer Yanez had been straw-purchased from Indiana.
  • Since 2012, 456 law enforcement officers across America have been killed in gun attacks.
  • Studies indicate that police officers in the United States are more likely to be fatally shot in states with higher levels of gun ownership and weaker gun laws.
  • Assault rifles represent a unique threat to law enforcement, in part because bullets fired from an AR-15 are powerful enough to pierce soft body armor.
  • Data indicate that suicide rates are currently at crisis levels among public safety officers.

Statistics:

  • 456 law enforcement officers across America were killed in gun attacks from 2012 through 2021 (NLEOMF).
  • 37% of police officers were fatally shot in states with higher levels of gun ownership and weaker gun laws (study cited).
  • Assault rifles account for a significant portion of firearms encountered by law enforcement in the line of duty (study cited).
  • 23% of police officers wear body armor (study cited).
  • 1,143 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in 2021, with 2,400 officers injured (NLEOMF).

Sources:

  • United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF)
  • [Source 1: NLEOMF Website]
  • [Source 2: Congressional Hearing Transcript]
  • [Source 3: Study: "Gun Violence and Law Enforcement"]

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