Republican Tennessee lawmakers launch 'Blue Lives Matter' effort...

Tennessee lawmakers launch 'Blue Lives Matter' effort

Six Republican state lawmakers launched an effort Monday called "Blue Lives Matter" to increase penalties for assaulting, killing and attempting to ? law enforcement officers in Tennessee.

The legislators will file three separate bills for consideration in the 2017 legislative session, which begins in January.

In an unusual move, the lawmakers created a website, tnbluelivesmatter.com, and a Facebook page, Tennessee Blue Lives Matter, to build support for their effort, which could face obstacles due to increased incarceration costs and possible philosophical differences over separating officers from other citizens. A bill to increase penalties for assaulting officers was filed three years ago but failed.

A proposal by Sen. Todd Gardenhire and House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, both R-Chattanooga, would elevate an assault of a law enforcement officer discharging or attempting to discharge official duties at the time from a Class A or B misdemeanor to a Class E felony, if the defendant knew or should have known the person assaulted was an officer. The elevation would increase potential jail time from 11 months, 29 days to up to six years, and the potential fine up to $5,000.

A bill by Sen. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, and Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, would designate the killing or attempted killing of a victim "who was known or reasonably should have been known by the defendant to be a law enforcement officer, as a hate crime." It would be classified as a Class A felony, the top level in Tennessee’s criminal code.

A bill by Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, and Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, would create a fine of $500 to $2,000 for the already-illegal public release of the home address of a law enforcement officer, unless release is pursuant to a court order or the officer gives permission. The statute cited by the bill specifically applies to custodians of public records and it is not clear whether penalties would apply to publication, as by the news media.

Holt attracted national attention last week with his plan to give away two AR-15 rifles during a campaign fundraiser.

During a Legislative Plaza news conference to launch the effort, White cited the recent death of Memphis police officer Verdell Smith, killed when he was struck by a fleeing suspect after a downtown shooting spree that injured three others. Smith was trying to clear pedestrians on a crowded Beale Street out of the fleeing suspect’s path when he was struck.

"We just buried one of our really fine police officers. He was doing his job, out on the street trying to clear everybody out and he was run over," White said. "All lives matter, but we want to bring attention to this cause."

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which tracks deaths of officers, reports that overall fatalities of officers in the line of duty are down 14 percent this year compared with the same January through June 27 period in 2015 — from 57 officers to 49 — but firearms-related deaths specifically are up 17 percent, from 18 to 21.

The group also reported in December that the number of officers killed by gunfire in 2015 fell by 14 percent from 2014 and that firearms-related fatalities peaked in 1973, when 156 officers were shot and killed.

The new Tennessee effort is part of a nationwide Blue Lives Matter push to strengthen state laws to protect law enforcement officers.

But the name of the effort may spark controversy, contrasting with the Black Lives Matter movement that arose after a spate of highly publicized deaths of black citizens at the hands of officers. But state Green said the name isn’t intended to diminish Black Lives Matter.

"We don’t want there to be confusion with other groups that are out there seeking to have injustices righted," Green said. "This name, Blue Lives Matter, is a perfect name for what we’re trying to communicate, which is that these guys need to be protected, too — these gals who put themselves out there for us need to be protected, too. This is not intended to compete with other efforts. It’s not intended to minimize other efforts. Those efforts are important."

Green also said that an assault on officers "is an assault on freedom, yet criminals have taken to targeting our law enforcement intentionally because they are law enforcement."