I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4760 
To make an attack on a police officer a hate crime, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 16, 2016 
Mr. BUCK (for himself, Mr. GOWDY, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. CHAFFETZ, and Mr. 
RATCLIFFE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To make an attack on a police officer a hate crime, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Blue Lives Matter Act 
of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. HATE CRIME AGAINST POLICE OFFICERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘§ 250. Hate crimes against police officers 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, in any circumstance 
described in section 249(a)(2)(B) of this title, knowingly 
causes bodily injury to any person, or attempts to do so, 
because of the actual or perceived status of the person 
as a police officer— 
‘‘(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 
years, fined in accordance with this title, or both; 
and 
‘‘(2) shall be imprisoned for any term of years 
or for life, fined in accordance with this title, or 
both, if— 
‘‘(A) death results from the offense; or 
‘‘(B) the offense includes kidnapping or an 
attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or 
an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, 
or an attempt to kill. 
‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No prosecution of any of-
fense described in this section may be undertaken by 
the United States, except under the certification in 
writing of the Attorney General, or a designee, 
that— 
‘‘(A) the State does not have jurisdiction; 
‘‘(B) the State has requested that the Fed-
eral Government assume jurisdiction; 
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‘‘(C) the verdict or sentence obtained pur-
suant to State charges left demonstratively 
unvindicated the Federal interest in eradicating 
bias-motivated violence; or 
‘‘(D) a prosecution by the United States is 
in the public interest and necessary to secure 
substantial justice. 
‘‘(2) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection shall be construed to limit the au-
thority of Federal officers, or a Federal grand jury, 
to investigate possible violations of this section. 
‘‘(c) GUIDELINES.—All prosecutions conducted by 
the United States under this section shall be undertaken 
pursuant to guidelines issued by the Attorney General, or 
the designee of the Attorney General, to be included in 
the United States Attorneys’ Manual that shall establish 
neutral and objective criteria for determining whether a 
crime was committed because of the actual or perceived 
status of any person. 
‘‘(d) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) OFFENSES NOT RESULTING IN DEATH.— 
Except as provided in paragraph (2), no person shall 
be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any offense 
under this section unless the indictment for such of-
fense is found, or the information for such offense 
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is instituted, not later than 7 years after the date 
on which the offense was committed. 
‘‘(2) OFFENSES RESULTING IN DEATH.—An in-
dictment or information alleging that an offense 
under this section resulted in death may be found or 
instituted at any time without limitation. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) POLICE OFFICER.—The term ‘police offi-
cer’ means any officer or employee of the United 
States, any State, or any political subdivision of a 
State, while engaged in the enforcement or prosecu-
tion of any of the criminal laws of the United States, 
a State, or any political subdivision of a State. 
‘‘(2) STATE.—The term ‘State’ includes the 
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any other 
territory or possession of the United States.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 
at the end the following new item: 
‘‘250. Hate crimes against police officers.’’. 
Æ 
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