Conyers and Goodlatte Applaud Passage of Bill to Create National Blue Alert System

Washington, D.C. – On May 12, 2015, the House of Representatives approved the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015 (S. 665) by voice vote and the bill is now headed to the President’s desk to be signed into law.  Named after two New York Police Department (NYPD) officers who were killed in the line of duty, this legislation will help to establish a nationwide alert system for distribution of time-sensitive information to better identify a violent suspect when a law enforcement officer is injured or killed in the line of duty.  A Blue Alert provides a description of an offender who is still at large and may include a description of the offender’s vehicle and license plate information.  Earlier this month, another NYPD police officer, Brian Moore, was murdered while on duty.  And this past weekend, two Hattiesburg, Mississippi police officers – Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate – were fatally shot during a routine traffic stop.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.) praised the passage of this legislation in a joint statement below:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“In 2014, 127 officers gave their lives while protecting Americans’ public safety, including three officers from the Commonwealth of Virginia and two from Michigan. These are sober reminders that our nation’s law enforcement professionals face danger every day as they carry out their duty to protect the American people. We must do our part to protect their lives as they do the same for us each day.

“The House’s approval of this legislation reaffirms our commitment to ensure the safety of the men and women in law enforcement and the citizens they serve to protect every day.  This bill ensures that when tragedy strikes, the public is on notice and suspects can be more quickly apprehended and brought to justice.  Like Amber Alerts, Blue Alerts help to hinder the offender’s ability to escape and will facilitate their capture.  We thank Congressmen Reichert and Pascrell for introducing the House companion to this important legislation and look forward to its swift enactment.”

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