FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE CONTACT:
May 19, 2015
Nikki
Cannon
202-293-1550
FLEOA APPLAUDS SIGNING OF BLUE ALERT ACT
Washington, DC– Following the national celebration of Police Week, President Obama today
signed into law the Rafael Ramos and
Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015, which will establish a
national communications network to issue "blue alerts” when a law enforcement
officer is killed, seriously injured, threatened or deemed missing under
certain circumstances.
"This
was one of our top legislative priorities this session and is a significant
development that will help protect the protectors of our communities,” said Jon
Adler, President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA).
"This new system will provide valuable, timely and location specific
information regarding the serious injury and/or line of duty death of a law
enforcement officer, while maintaining the anonymity of the law enforcement
officer involved.”
The
bipartisan legislation was modeled after Amber Alerts for missing children, and
will require the Department of Justice to create a national notification
system.
"FLEOA
has worked with Senator Cardin and Representatives Reichert and Pascrell to
make this legislation a reality and we commend them for their leadership on
this issue. They have been tireless champions of law enforcement in the halls
of Congress.”
"Today
is a step toward safeguarding those who put themselves in harm’s way every time
they don their uniform. It is also a reminder that those heroes we have lost to
these heinous acts are not forgotten, and we must continue to improve
structures within law enforcement to enable our officers to return safely to their
homes and families at night. We look forward to working with the Department of
Justice on its implementation to ensure the safety of our law enforcement.”