II 

Calendar No. 413 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2276 

To permit Federal officers to remove cases involving crimes of violence to 

Federal court. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 29, 2012 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. COONS, Mr. COBURN, Mr. SESSIONS, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and 

Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

MAY 23, 2012 

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To permit Federal officers to remove cases involving crimes 

of violence to Federal court. 

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 ‘‘Officer Safety Act of 

5 2012’’. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 2276 RS

1 SEC. 2. LIMITED LIABILITY. 

2 Section 1442 of title 28, United States Code, is 

3 amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(c) For purposes of subsection (a), a law enforce6 ment officer, who is the defendant in a criminal prosecu7 tion, shall be deemed to have been acting under the color 

8 of his office if the officer— 

9 ‘‘(1) protected an individual in the presence of 

10 the officer from a crime of violence; 

11 ‘‘(2) provided immediate assistance to an indi12 vidual who suffered, or who was threatened with, 

13 bodily harm; or 

14 ‘‘(3) prevented the escape of any individual who 

15 the officer reasonably believed to have committed, or 

16 was about to commit, in the presence of the officer, 

17 a crime of violence that resulted in, or was likely to 

18 result in, death or serious bodily injury. 

19 ‘‘(d) In this section, the following definitions apply: 

20 ‘‘(1) The terms ‘civil action’ and ‘criminal pros21 ecution’ include any proceeding (whether or not an22 cillary to another proceeding) to the extent that in 

23 such proceeding a judicial order, including a sub24 poena for testimony or documents, is sought or 

25 issued. If removal is sought for a proceeding de26 scribed in the previous sentence, and there is no 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 2276 RS

1 other basis for removal, only that proceeding may be 

2 removed to the district court. 

3 ‘‘(2) The term ‘crime of violence’ has the mean4 ing given that term in section 16 of title 18. 

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

6 any employee described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 

7 (C) of section 8401(17) of title 5 and any special 

8 agent in the Diplomatic Security Service of the De9 partment of State. 

10 ‘‘(4) The term ‘serious bodily injury’ has the 

11 meaning given that term in section 1365 of title 18. 

12 ‘‘(5) The term ‘State’ includes the District of 

13 Columbia, United States territories and insular pos14 sessions, and Indian country (as defined in section 

15 1151 of title 18). 

16 ‘‘(6) The term ‘State court’ includes the Supe17 rior Court of the District of Columbia, a court of a 

18 United States territory or insular possession, and a 

19 tribal court.’’. 

20 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

21 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Officer Safety Act of 

22 2012’’. 

23 SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF ACTION. 

24 Section 1442 of title 28, United States Code, is amend25 ed by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 2276 RS

1 ‘‘(c) Solely for purposes of determining the propriety 

2 of removal under subsection (a), a law enforcement officer, 

3 who is the defendant in a criminal prosecution, shall be 

4 deemed to have been acting under the color of his office if 

5 the officer— 

6 ‘‘(1) protected an individual in the presence of 

7 the officer from a crime of violence; 

8 ‘‘(2) provided immediate assistance to an indi9 vidual who suffered, or who was threatened with, bod10 ily harm; or 

11 ‘‘(3) prevented the escape of any individual who 

12 the officer reasonably believed to have committed, or 

13 was about to commit, in the presence of the officer, 

14 a crime of violence that resulted in, or was likely to 

15 result in, death or serious bodily injury. 

16 ‘‘(d) In this section, the following definitions apply: 

17 ‘‘(1) The terms ‘civil action’ and ‘criminal pros18 ecution’ include any proceeding (whether or not ancil19 lary to another proceeding) to the extent that in such 

20 proceeding a judicial order, including a subpoena for 

21 testimony or documents, is sought or issued. If re22 moval is sought for a proceeding described in the pre23 vious sentence, and there is no other basis for re24 moval, only that proceeding may be removed to the 

25 district court. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 2276 RS

1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘crime of violence’ has the mean2 ing given that term in section 16 of title 18. 

3 ‘‘(3) The term ‘law enforcement officer’ means 

4 any employee described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 

5 (C) of section 8401(17) of title 5 and any special 

6 agent in the Diplomatic Security Service of the De7 partment of State. 

8 ‘‘(4) The term ‘serious bodily injury’ has the 

9 meaning given that term in section 1365 of title 18. 

10 ‘‘(5) The term ‘State’ includes the District of Co11 lumbia, United States territories and insular posses12 sions, and Indian country (as defined in section 1151 

13 of title 18). 

14 ‘‘(6) The term ‘State court’ includes the Superior 

15 Court of the District of Columbia, a court of a United 

16 States territory or insular possession, and a tribal 

17 court.’’. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 413 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2276 

A BILL 

To permit Federal officers to remove cases 

involving crimes of violence to Federal court. 

MAY 23, 2012 

Reported with an amendment 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS