I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2281 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide Federal penalties for 

attempting to kill, conspiring to kill, or killing police officers, firefighters, 

and other federally funded public safety officers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 10, 2007 

Mr. PORTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide Federal 

penalties for attempting to kill, conspiring to kill, or 

killing police officers, firefighters, and other federally 

funded public safety officers. 

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 ‘‘Sergeant Henry 

5 Prendes Memorial Act of 2007’’. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
2 

•HR 2281 IH

1 SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF FEDERALLY FUNDED PUBLIC 

2 SAFETY OFFICERS. 

3 (a) OFFENSE.—Chapter 51 of title 18, United States 

4 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 1123. Killing of federally funded public safety offi6 cers 

7 ‘‘(a) Whoever kills, or attempts or conspires to kill, 

8 a federally funded public safety officer while that officer 

9 is engaged in official duties, or on account of the perform10 ance of official duties, or kills a former federally funded 

11 public safety officer on account of the past performance 

12 of official duties, shall be punished by a fine under this 

13 title and imprisonment for any term of years not less than 

14 30, or for life, or, if death results and the offender is pros15 ecuted as a principal, may be sentenced to death. 

16 ‘‘(b) As used in this section— 

17 ‘‘(1) the term ‘federally funded public safety of18 ficer’ means a public safety officer for a public agen19 cy (including a court system, the National Guard of 

20 a State to the extent the personnel of that National 

21 Guard are not in Federal service, and the defense 

22 forces of a State authorized by section 109 of title 

23 32) that receives Federal financial assistance, of an 

24 entity that is a State of the United States, the Dis25 trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

26 Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, Guam, 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
3 

•HR 2281 IH

1 American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific 

2 Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar3 iana Islands, or any territory or possession of the 

4 United States, an Indian tribe, or a unit of local 

5 government of that entity; 

6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘public safety officer’ means an 

7 individual serving a public agency in an official ca8 pacity, as a judicial officer, as a law enforcement of9 ficer, as a firefighter, as a chaplain, or as a member 

10 of a rescue squad or ambulance crew; 

11 ‘‘(3) the term ‘judicial officer’ means a judge or 

12 other officer or employee of a court, including pros13 ecutors, court security, pretrial services officers, 

14 court reporters, and corrections, probation, and pa15 role officers; 

16 ‘‘(4) the term ‘firefighter’ includes an individual 

17 serving as an official recognized or designated mem18 ber of a legally organized volunteer fire department 

19 and an officially recognized or designated public em20 ployee member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew; 

21 and 

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

23 an individual, with arrest powers, involved in crime 

24 and juvenile delinquency control or reduction, or en25 forcement of the laws.’’. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
4 

•HR 2281 IH

1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 at the beginning of chapter 51 of title 18, United States 

3 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

4 item: 

‘‘1123. Killing of federally funded public safety officers.’’. 

Æ 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS