I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5809 
To protect law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 14, 2016 
Mr. POE of Texas (for himself, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SMITH 
of Texas, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. WILLIAMS, and Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary 
A BILL 
To protect law enforcement officers, 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 ‘‘Back the Blue Act 
of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. 
(a) KILLING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.— 
(1) OFFENSE.—Chapter 51 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
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‘‘§ 1123. Killing of law enforcement officers 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the terms ‘Federal law enforcement officer’ 
and ‘United States judge’ have the meanings given 
those terms in section 115; 
‘‘(2) the term ‘federally funded public safety of-
ficer’ means a public safety officer or judicial officer 
for a public agency that— 
‘‘(A) receives Federal financial assistance; 
and 
‘‘(B) is an agency of an entity that is a 
State of the United States, the District of Co-
lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-
lands, or any territory or possession of the 
United States, an Indian tribe, or a unit of 
local government of that entity; 
‘‘(3) the term ‘firefighter’ includes an individual 
serving as an official recognized or designated mem-
ber of a legally organized volunteer fire department 
and an officially recognized or designated public em-
ployee member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew; 
‘‘(4) the term ‘judicial officer’ means a judge or 
other officer or employee of a court, including pros-
ecutors, court security, pretrial services officers, 
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court reporters, and corrections, probation, and pa-
role officers; 
‘‘(5) the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means 
an individual, with arrest powers, involved in crime 
or juvenile delinquency control or reduction or en-
forcement of the laws; 
‘‘(6) the term ‘public agency’ includes a court 
system, the National Guard of a State to the extent 
the personnel of that National Guard are not in 
Federal service, and the defense forces of a State 
authorized by section 109 of title 32; and 
‘‘(7) the term ‘public safety officer’ means an 
individual serving a public agency in an official ca-
pacity, as a law enforcement officer, as a firefighter, 
as a chaplain, or as a member of a rescue squad or 
ambulance crew. 
‘‘(b) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for any person 
to— 
‘‘(1) kill, or attempt or conspire to kill— 
‘‘(A) a United States judge; 
‘‘(B) a Federal law enforcement officer; or 
‘‘(C) a federally funded public safety offi-
cer while that officer is engaged in official du-
ties, or on account of the performance of offi-
cial duties; or 
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‘‘(2) kill a former United States judge, Federal 
law enforcement officer, or federally funded public 
safety officer on account of the past performance of 
official duties. 
‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Any person that violates subsection 
(b) shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not 
less than 10 years or for life, or, if death results, shall 
be sentenced to not less than 30 years and not more than 
life, or may be punished by death.’’. 
(2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 
for chapter 51 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘1123. Killing of law enforcement officers.’’. 
(b) ASSAULT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.— 
(1) OFFENSE.—Chapter 7 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘§ 120. Assaults of law enforcement officers 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘feder-
ally funded State or local law enforcement officer’ means 
an individual involved in crime and juvenile delinquency 
control or reduction, or enforcement of the laws (including 
a police, corrections, probation, or parole officer) who 
works for a public agency (that receives Federal financial 
assistance) of a State of the United States or the District 
of Columbia. 
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‘‘(b) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful to assault a fed-
erally funded State or local law enforcement officer while 
engaged in or on account of the performance of official 
duties, or assaults any person who formerly served as a 
federally funded State or local law enforcement officer on 
account of the performance of such person’s official duties 
during such service, or because of the actual or perceived 
status of the person as a federally funded State or local 
law enforcement officer. 
‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Any person that violates subsection 
(b) shall be subject to a fine under this title and— 
‘‘(1) if the assault resulted in bodily injury (as 
defined in section 1365), shall be imprisoned not less 
than 2 years and not more than 10 years; 
‘‘(2) if the assault resulted in substantial bodily 
injury (as defined in section 113), shall be impris-
oned not less than 5 years and not more than 20 
years; 
‘‘(3) if the assault resulted in serious bodily in-
jury (as defined in section 1365), shall be impris-
oned for not less than 10 years; 
‘‘(4) if a deadly or dangerous weapon was used 
during and in relation to the assault, shall be im-
prisoned for not less than 20 years; and 
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‘‘(5) shall be imprisoned for not more than 1 
year in any other case. 
‘‘(d) 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; 
‘‘(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. 
‘‘(e) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) OFFENSES NOT RESULTING IN DEATH.— 
Except as provided in paragraph (2), no person shall 
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