I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5395 

To protect law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 11, 2019 

Mr. BACON (for himself, Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, 

and Mr. STIVERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To protect law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Back the Blue Act 

5 of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. 

7 (a) KILLING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.— 

8 (1) OFFENSE.—Chapter 51 of title 18, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1123. Killing of law enforcement officers 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

3 ‘‘(1) the terms ‘Federal law enforcement officer’ 

4 and ‘United States judge’ have the meanings given 

5 those terms in section 115; 

6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘federally funded public safety of7 ficer’ means a public safety officer or judicial officer 

8 for a public agency that— 

9 ‘‘(A) receives Federal financial assistance; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) is an agency of an entity that is a 

12 State of the United States, the District of Co13 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

14 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 

15 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is16 lands, or any territory or possession of the 

17 United States, an Indian tribe, or a unit of 

18 local government of that entity; 

19 ‘‘(3) the term ‘firefighter’ includes an individual 

20 serving as an official recognized or designated mem21 ber of a legally organized volunteer fire department 

22 and an officially recognized or designated public em23 ployee member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew; 

24 ‘‘(4) the term ‘judicial officer’ means a judge or 

25 other officer or employee of a court, including pros26 ecutors, court security, pretrial services officers, 


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1 court reporters, and corrections, probation, and pa2 role officers; 

3 ‘‘(5) the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means 

4 an individual, with arrest powers, involved in crime 

5 or juvenile delinquency control or reduction or en6 forcement of the laws; 

7 ‘‘(6) the term ‘public agency’ includes a court 

8 system, the National Guard of a State to the extent 

9 the personnel of that National Guard are not in 

10 Federal service, and the defense forces of a State 

11 authorized by section 109 of title 32; and 

12 ‘‘(7) the term ‘public safety officer’ means an 

13 individual serving a public agency in an official ca14 pacity, as a law enforcement officer, as a firefighter, 

15 as a chaplain, or as a member of a rescue squad or 

16 ambulance crew. 

17 ‘‘(b) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for any person 

18 to— 

19 ‘‘(1) kill, or attempt or conspire to kill— 

20 ‘‘(A) a United States judge; 

21 ‘‘(B) a Federal law enforcement officer; or 

22 ‘‘(C) a federally funded public safety offi23 cer while that officer is engaged in official du24 ties, or on account of the performance of offi25 cial duties; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) kill a former United States judge, Federal 

2 law enforcement officer, or federally funded public 

3 safety officer on account of the past performance of 

4 official duties. 

5 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Any person that violates subsection 

6 (b) shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not 

7 less than 10 years or for life, or, if death results, shall 

8 be sentenced to not less than 30 years and not more than 

9 life, or may be punished by death.’’. 

10 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 

11 for chapter 51 of title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘1123. Killing of law enforcement officers.’’. 

13 (b) ASSAULT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.— 

14 (1) OFFENSE.—Chapter 7 of title 18, United 

15 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘§ 120. Assaults of law enforcement officers 

18 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘feder19 ally funded State or local law enforcement officer’ means 

20 an individual involved in crime and juvenile delinquency 

21 control or reduction, or enforcement of the laws (including 

22 a police, corrections, probation, or parole officer) who 

23 works for a public agency (that receives Federal financial 

24 assistance) of a State of the United States or the District 

25 of Columbia. 


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1 ‘‘(b) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful to assault a fed2 erally funded State or local law enforcement officer while 

3 engaged in or on account of the performance of official 

4 duties, or assaults any person who formerly served as a 

5 federally funded State or local law enforcement officer on 

6 account of the performance of such person’s official duties 

7 during such service, or because of the actual or perceived 

8 status of the person as a federally funded State or local 

9 law enforcement officer. 

10 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Any person that violates subsection 

11 (b) shall be subject to a fine under this title and— 

12 ‘‘(1) if the assault resulted in bodily injury (as 

13 defined in section 1365), shall be imprisoned not less 

14 than 2 years and not more than 10 years; 

15 ‘‘(2) if the assault resulted in substantial bodily 

16 injury (as defined in section 113), shall be impris17 oned not less than 5 years and not more than 20 

18 years; 

19 ‘‘(3) if the assault resulted in serious bodily in20 jury (as defined in section 1365), shall be impris21 oned for not less than 10 years; 

22 ‘‘(4) if a deadly or dangerous weapon was used 

23 during and in relation to the assault, shall be im24 prisoned for not less than 20 years; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) shall be imprisoned for not more than 1 

2 year in any other case. 

3 ‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No prosecution of any of5 fense described in this section may be undertaken by 

6 the United States, except under the certification in 

7 writing of the Attorney General, or a designee, 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(A) the State does not have jurisdiction; 

10 ‘‘(B) the State has requested that the Fed11 eral Government assume jurisdiction; 

12 ‘‘(C) the verdict or sentence obtained pur13 suant to State charges left demonstratively 

14 unvindicated the Federal interest in eradicating 

15 bias-motivated violence; or 

16 ‘‘(D) a prosecution by the United States is 

17 in the public interest and necessary to secure 

18 substantial justice. 

19 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

20 this subsection shall be construed to limit the au21 thority of Federal officers, or a Federal grand jury, 

22 to investigate possible violations of this section. 

23 ‘‘(e) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) OFFENSES NOT RESULTING IN DEATH.— 

25 Except as provided in paragraph (2), no person shall 


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1 be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any offense 

2 under this section unless the indictment for such of3 fense is found, or the information for such offense 

4 is instituted, not later than 7 years after the date 

5 on which the offense was committed. 

6 ‘‘(2) OFFENSES RESULTING IN DEATH.—An in7 dictment or information alleging that an offense 

8 under this section resulted in death may be found or 

9 instituted at any time without limitation.’’. 

10 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 

11 for chapter 7 of title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘120. Killing of law enforcement officers.’’. 

13 (c) FLIGHT TO AVOID PROSECUTION FOR KILLING

14 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS.— 

15 (1) OFFENSE.—Chapter 49 of title 18, United 

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘§ 1075. Flight to avoid prosecution for killing law 

19 enforcement officials 

20 ‘‘(a) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for any person 

21 to move or travel in interstate or foreign commerce with 

22 intent to avoid prosecution, or custody or confinement 

23 after conviction, under the laws of the place from which 

24 the person flees or under section 1114 or 1123, for a crime 

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1 spiracy to kill a Federal judge or Federal law enforcement 

2 officer (as those terms are defined in section 115), or a 

3 federally funded public safety officer (as that term is de4 fined in section 1123). 

5 ‘‘(b) PENALTY.—Any person that violates subsection 

6 (a) shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not 

7 less than 10 years, in addition to any other term of impris8 onment for any other offense relating to the conduct de9 scribed in subsection (a).’’. 

10 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 

11 for chapter 49 of title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘1075. Flight to avoid prosecution for killing law enforcement officials.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. SPECIFIC AGGRAVATING FACTOR FOR FEDERAL 

14 DEATH PENALTY KILLING OF LAW ENFORCE15 MENT OFFICER. 

16 (a) AGGRAVATING FACTORS FOR HOMICIDE.—Sec17 tion 3592(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

18 by inserting after paragraph (16) the following: 

19 ‘‘(17) KILLING OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFI20 CER, PROSECUTOR, JUDGE, OR FIRST RESPONDER.— 

21 The defendant killed or attempted to kill a person 

22 who is authorized by law— 

23 ‘‘(A) to engage in or supervise the preven24 tion, detention, or investigation of any criminal 

25 violation of law; 


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1 ‘‘(B) to arrest, prosecute, or adjudicate an 

2 individual for any criminal violation of law; or 

3 ‘‘(C) to be a firefighter or other first re4 sponder.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON FEDERAL HABEAS RELIEF FOR 

6 MURDERS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. 

7 (a) JUSTICE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

8 AND THEIR FAMILIES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2254 of title 28, 

10 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following: 

12 ‘‘(j)(1) For an application for a writ of habeas corpus 

13 on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment 

14 of a State court for a crime that involved the killing of 

15 a public safety officer (as that term is defined in section 

16 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

17 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b)) or judge, while 

18 the public safety officer or judge was engaged in the per19 formance of official duties, or on account of the perform20 ance of official duties by or status as a public safety officer 

21 or judge of the public safety officer or judge— 

22 ‘‘(A) the application shall be subject to the time 

23 limitations and other requirements under sections 

24 2263, 2264, and 2266; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the court shall not consider claims relating 

2 to sentencing that were adjudicated in a State court. 

3 ‘‘(2) Sections 2251, 2262, and 2101 are the exclusive 

4 sources of authority for Federal courts to stay a sentence 

5 of death entered by a State court in a case described in 

6 paragraph (1).’’. 

7 (2) RULES.—Rule 11 of the Rules Governing 

8 Section 2254 Cases in the United States District 

9 Courts is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: ‘‘Rule 60(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil 

11 Procedure shall not apply to a proceeding under 

12 these rules in a case that is described in section 

13 2254(j) of title 28, United States Code.’’. 

14 (3) FINALITY OF DETERMINATION.—Section 

15 2244(b)(3)(E) of title 28, United States Code, is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘the subject of a petition’’ and 

17 all that follows and inserting: ‘‘reheard in the court 

18 of appeals or reviewed by writ of certiorari.’’. 

19 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—This paragraph and the 

21 amendments made by this paragraph shall 

22 apply to any case pending on or after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act. 

24 (B) TIME LIMITS.—In a case pending on 

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1 ments made by this paragraph impose a time 

2 limit for taking certain action, the period of 

3 which began before the date of enactment of 

4 this Act, the period of such time limit shall 

5 begin on the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 (C) EXCEPTION.—The amendments made 

7 by this paragraph shall not bar consideration 

8 under section 2266(b)(3)(B) of title 28, United 

9 States Code, of an amendment to an application 

10 for a writ of habeas corpus that is pending on 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, if the amend12 ment to the petition was adjudicated by the 

13 court prior to the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON RECOVERY OF CERTAIN DAMAGES 

15 FOR INDIVIDUALS ENGAGED IN FELONIES OR 

16 CRIMES OF VIOLENCE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1979 of the Revised Stat18 utes (42 U.S.C. 1983) is amended by— 

19 (1) striking ‘‘except that in any action’’ and all 

20 that follows through ‘‘relief was unavailable.’’ and 

21 inserting the following: ‘‘except that— 

22 ‘‘(1) in any action brought against a judicial of23 ficer for an act or omission taken in the judicial ca24 pacity of that officer, injunctive relief shall not be 


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1 granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or 

2 declaratory relief was unavailable; and 

3 ‘‘(2) in any action seeking redress for any dep4 rivation that was incurred in the course of, or as a 

5 result of, or is related to, conduct by the injured 

6 party that, more likely than not, constituted a felony 

7 or a crime of violence (as that term is defined in sec8 tion 16 of title 18, United States Code) (including 

9 any deprivation in the course of arrest or apprehen10 sion for, or the investigation, prosecution, or adju11 dication of, such an offense), a court may not award 

12 damages other than for necessary out-of-pocket ex13 penditures and other monetary loss.’’; and 

14 (2) indenting the last sentence as an undesig15 nated paragraph. 

16 (b) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—Section 722(b) of the Re17 vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘except that in any action’’ and all that follows and insert19 ing the following: ‘‘except that— 

20 ‘‘(1) in any action brought against a judicial of21 ficer for an act or omission taken in the judicial ca22 pacity of that officer, such officer shall not be held 

23 liable for any costs, including attorneys fees, unless 

24 such action was clearly in excess of the jurisdiction 

25 of that officer; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) in any action seeking redress for any dep2 rivation that was incurred in the course of, or as a 

3 result of, or is related to, conduct by the injured 

4 party that, more likely than not, constituted a felony 

5 or a crime of violence (as that term is defined in sec6 tion 16 of title 18, United States Code) (including 

7 any deprivation in the course of arrest or apprehen8 sion for, or the investigation, prosecution, or adju9 dication of, such an offense), the court may not 

10 allow such party to recover attorney’s fees.’’. 

11 SEC. 6. SELF-DEFENSE RIGHTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT 

12 OFFICERS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 203 of title 18, United 

14 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3053 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘§ 3054. Authority of law enforcement officers to 

17 carry firearms 

18 ‘‘Any sworn officer, agent, or employee of the United 

19 States, a State, or a political subdivision thereof, who is 

20 authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, 

21 detection, investigation, or prosecution of any violation of 

22 law, or to supervise or secure the safety of incarcerated 

23 inmates, may carry firearms if authorized by law to do 

24 so. Such authority to carry firearms, with respect to the 

25 lawful performance of the official duties of a sworn officer, 


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1 agent, or employee of a State or a political subdivision 

2 thereof, shall include possession incident to depositing a 

3 firearm within a secure firearms storage area for use by 

4 all persons who are authorized to carry a firearm within 

5 any building or structure classified as a Federal facility 

6 or Federal court facility, as those terms are defined under 

7 section 930, and any grounds appurtenant to such a facil8 ity.’’. 

9 (b) CARRYING OF CONCEALED FIREARMS BY QUALI10 FIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.—Section 

11 926B(e)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

12 by inserting ‘‘any magazine and’’ after ‘‘includes’’. 

13 (c) CARRYING OF CONCEALED FIREARMS BY QUALI14 FIED RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.—Section 

15 926C(e)(1)(B) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

16 by inserting ‘‘any magazine and’’ after ‘‘includes’’. 

17 (d) SCHOOL ZONES.—Section 922(q)(2)(B)(vi) title 

18 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or a 

19 qualified law enforcement officer (as defined in section 

20 926B(c))’’ before the semicolon. 

21 (e) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 60 

22 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

23 General shall promulgate regulations allowing persons de24 scribed in section 3054 of title 18, United States Code, 

25 to possess firearms in a manner described by that section. 


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1 With respect to Federal justices, judges, bankruptcy 

2 judges, and magistrate judges, such regulations shall be 

3 prescribed after consultation with the Judicial Conference 

4 of the United States. 

5 (f) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 

6 chapter 203 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

7 by inserting after the item relating to section 3053 the 

8 following: 

‘‘3054. Authority of law enforcement officers to carry firearms.’’. 

9 SEC. 7. IMPROVING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LAW EN10 FORCEMENT AGENCIES AND THE COMMU11 NITIES THEY SERVE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 2020 

13 through 2024, the Attorney General using covered 

14 amounts shall, using such amounts as are necessary not 

15 to exceed $20,000,000, award grants to State, local, or 

16 tribal law enforcement agencies and appropriate non17 governmental organizations to— 

18 (1) promote trust and ensure legitimacy among 

19 law enforcement agencies and the communities they 

20 serve through procedural reforms, transparency, and 

21 accountability; 

22 (2) develop comprehensive and responsive poli23 cies on key topics relevant to the relationship be24 tween law enforcement agencies and the commu25 nities they serve; 


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1 (3) balance the embrace of technology and dig2 ital communications with local needs, privacy, as3 sessments, and monitoring; 

4 (4) encourage the implementation of policies 

5 that support community-based partnerships in the 

6 reduction of crime; 

7 (5) emphasize the importance of high quality 

8 and effective training and education through part9 nerships with local and national training facilities; 

10 and 

11 (6) endorse practices that support officer 

12 wellness and safety through the re-evaluation of offi13 cer shift hours, including data collection and anal14 ysis. 

15 (b) COVERED AMOUNTS DEFINED.—In this section, 

16 the term ‘‘covered amounts’’ means— 

17 (1) any unobligated balances made available 

18 under the heading ‘‘GENERAL ADMINISTRA19 TION’’ under the heading ‘‘DEPARTMENT OF 

20 JUSTICE’’ in an appropriations Act in a fiscal year; 

21 (2) any amounts made available for an ‘‘Ed22 ward Byrne Memorial criminal justice innovation 

23 program’’ under the heading ‘‘STATE AND LOCAL

24 LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE’’ under the heading 

25 ‘‘OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS’’ under the 


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1 heading ‘‘DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’’ in an ap2 propriations Act in a fiscal year; or 

3 (3) any combination of amounts described in 

4 paragraphs (1) and (2). 

Æ 


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