NAPO VICTORY: Senate Passes Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act

April 30, 2015

NAPO VICTORY!!!

Senate Passes

Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act

 

This evening, the Senate passed the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act.  NAPO has expended all available efforts to garner support for this critical piece of legislation, and we are thrilled to report this victory to our members. 

  

The Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act will assist with the establishment of a nationwide Blue Alert system to apprehend violent criminals who have injured or killed police officers or who have made an imminent or credible threat to cause serious injury or death of a law enforcement officer.  This bill is named in honor of two New York City Police Detectives, and NAPO members, who were assassinated while sitting in their police patrol car in December 2014.  Their killer posted threats to law enforcement on social media before the attack.  Implementing a nationwide Blue Alert system will help to ensure that information on credible threats, like those posted by the individual who killed Detectives Ramos and Liu, is widely disseminated so that officers have advanced warning, and can apprehend the criminal before he or she can do more harm. 

 

NAPO has worked closely with the Blue Alert bill’s sponsors, Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to garner support for this legislation.  NAPO’s Executive Director, Bill Johnson, participated in a press conference with Senator Cardin and the House bill’s sponsors, Congressmen Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), on March 24, 2015, to bring attention to the importance of this legislation.

 

In addition to the press conference, NAPO has spent countless hours engaging staffers for key members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to garner support for this bill.  We are ecstatic that our efforts were successful, and we’re looking forward to working with you to ensure this bill becomes law.

 

If you have any questions about the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act,please contact Melissa Nee at:  mnee@napo.org.