The legislation adds language to an existing law enhancing penalties for crimes targeting people based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and other identity categories to include “actual or perceived employment as a law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency medical services personnel”. A misdemeanor hate crime charge carries a weight of $500 or six months imprisonment.
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Under the Louisiana measure, people convicted of felony hate crimes singling out police or other first responders would face an additional five years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.
“It offers an extra level of protection for those who put their lives on the line to protect us every day, and it’s symbolic of our appreciation for that service”, said Harris, who is also chairman of the House GOP caucus.
But the Anti-Defamation League isn’t happy about the bill, which has already cleared both chambers of the Louisiana legislature and is just awaiting the signature of Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Black rights group have been protesting of excessive use of force by police and have pointed out the various instances in which law enforcement officers have killed unarmed civilians.
His family has produced four generations of Tangipahoa Parish sheriffs, including his brother and current Sheriff Daniel Edwards.
“Talking heads on television and inflammatory rhetoric on social media are inciting acts of hatred and violence toward our nation’s peace officers”, said National Fraternal Order of Police President Chuck Canterbury said in an official statement.
The bill is expected to be signed into law by the governor.
Harris, whose bill has generated national attention, said he believes there are cases where police are attacked “for no other reason that some people hate police”. Critics say it could weaken the hate crimes law by including a professional distinction that a matter of choice, in contrast to the color of someone’s skin.
In this August 29, 2015 photo, law enforcement officers attend a news conference in Houston on the shooting death of Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Darren Goforth, pictured in the background.
“It looked like it was strictly done because someone didn’t like police officers, like a hate crime”, Harris said.
Former police Lt. Randy Sutton, a spokesman for Blue Lives Matter, says he classifies police officers as a minority group.
“This idea that the police are under attack, well, all the statistics show that actually the opposite is true, and nothing could be further from the truth”.
But many officers and their relatives have said they feel greater tension with the increased attention to fatal shootings by police.
“We have to stop this malicious trend before it starts – we can not allow the gains of the civil rights movement to be squandered away by police officers scrambling to avoid criticism from their constituents”, Savannah Shange, of Black Youth Project 100 New Orleans, told the Louisiana Advocate. “Including “police” as a protected class in hate crime legislation would serve to provide more protection to an institution that is statistically proven to be racist in action, policy, and impact”.
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HB 953 is commonly known as “Blue Lives Matter”, a phrase co-opted from the Black Lives Matter movement and that stands as a counterpoint to criticisms of police brutality.
