Lucy McBath Voices Support For Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety & Wellness Through Data Act

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In House floor remarks last week, Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) spoke out in support of the Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act.

Transcript

00:00is recognized thank you mr speaker i actually rise in support of the improving law enforcement

00:06officer safety and wellness through data act the law enforcement officers serve as our lifeline

00:13of defense against danger with this bill we will have an opportunity to equip the department of

00:20justice and congress with very crucial information to better understand and enhance officer safety

00:27law enforcement officers deserve to return home safely to their families knowing their well-being

00:33is truly a priority federal state local and tribal officers face very long hours immense pressure and

00:43unpredictable dangers every day and over time the constant strain of the job can take a significant

00:50toll on their bodies and their minds while these are some mental health while there are some mental

00:57health resources currently available to our officers there's still so much more that we can and we

01:04should be doing to ensure their wellness and most definitely their safety by prioritizing data driven

01:12approaches to officer safety and wellness we can address systemic risks reduce preventable tragedies

01:19and build a stronger more resilient law enforcement system the goal is that the required report

01:28will provide us with the insight into the challenges our officers face and help us to understand

01:35the additional support that they need to remain physically and mentally safe federal law enforcement

01:43officers dedicate themselves to protecting our nation to protecting our communities and it is our

01:50responsibility in this body to ensure that they receive the protection that they deserve law enforcement

01:58officers to face unparalleled risks every day from physical violence to psychological traumas

02:07according to the fbi assaults against officers remain very very high with tens of thousands of them

02:15that are injured annually beyond the line of duty officers experience higher rates of ptsd

02:23depression and suicide compared to the general population yet for too long this body congress has not done as

02:34much as we should to tackle these issues that they face this bill requires the collection and analysis

02:43of critical data on attacks on officers injuries that they suffer their mental health challenges

02:52challenges and wellness program effectiveness without accurate data we're fighting blind

03:01by identifying trends such as the frequency of attacks on officers or gaps in mental health support we can

03:08implement targeted solutions to keep our officers safe and to keep them healthy many officer fatalities and

03:18important injuries are preventable with better training better equipment and better policies for example

03:26if data reveals that a significant number of injuries occurred during traffic stops agencies can adopt

03:35safer tactics tactics or deploy new technologies if certain regions report higher rates of firearm related fatalities

03:44we can prioritize resources there officer suicide rates outpace line of duty deaths and i want to say this again

03:56officer suicide rates outpace line of duty deaths yet stigma and inadequate resources prevent many of them from seeking help

04:08this bill will help us track mental health trends evaluate the effectiveness of peer support programs and expand access to

04:18counseling healthy officers are better officers they're more effective officers both for their own well-being

04:27and for the communities that they serve when officers are safer and they're healthier and they're better supported

04:35they're better equipped to serve with professionalism and with empathy our communities benefit when law enforcement

04:44agencies are operating using data to improve practices rather than reacting to crises but the improving law

04:54enforcement officer safety and wellness through data act isn't just about gathering data and reporting statistics

05:02it's about lives and it's about public safety it's about the officer who returns home safely to their family

05:10at night the rookie who gets life-saving training or the veteran who receives mental health care instead of

05:18suffering in silence but if we are to realize any of these benefits this bill must be the first step that we take and

05:28definitely not the last we must be prepared to act on the information that we get from these reports

05:35that come from this bill much of which is already collected by the doj and other agencies we must be

05:44prepared to provide tangible resources to our law enforcement which i'm sure the reports will suggest that

05:53they need as we observe national police week and talk about officer safety and wellness

06:01i would be remiss if i did not call for the immediate restoration of hundreds of millions of dollars

06:10affecting nearly 40 40 states in public safety grant funding that the department of justice chose to

06:18abruptly terminate some of that canceled funding went to law enforcement training support and other

06:27critical resources and more specifically to addressing the health the safety and wellness of law enforcement

06:35and as i have here president trump's 2026 budget would have would have devastating impact on public policy

06:45one billion dollars across 40 department of justice grant programs which support police departments and

06:51reduce violent crime hate crime and crime against women that's been cut 646 million from the federal

06:58emergency management agency fema for violence and terrorism and i could go on and on and on but i won't

07:05these terminations include a grant totaled over eight million dollars to the national policing institute

07:12which assisted rural police departments and district attorney's offices to pay for violent crime

07:20investigators and programs to combat child sex abuse i also feel that it's necessary to mention once again

07:31as the ranking member has the plaque that we voted to hang in the capitol more than three years ago

07:39to honor the countless officers who fought and they died to protect the lives of members of congress

07:46all of us in this body not only members of congress but staffers and other personnel and to save our democracy

07:55on january 6 2021 hanging this plaque is the least that we could do to honor those that have fought and

08:05died and given their lives for us this body hanging this plaque is required by law a law that was passed we

08:15passed the law over three years ago why is this plaque not up that's a simple question why is this law being

08:24defied that's a simple question many of those officers who have been left feeling ignored and betrayed by the

08:33very members of congress they stand outside every single day and they protect and they watch over us and

08:39they have feel they feel betrayed many times they can't even look at us as we walk out the door because

08:46they feel betrayed they fought to protect us on that day january 6 and yes we still betray them

08:58former u.s capitol police sergeant acolino gunnell recently told our staff and i quote trump is treating

09:07the rioters like they were the ones defending the capitol end quote he went on to say of trump calling january

09:16six a day of love end quote he says that if that was a day of love they almost loved me to death

09:28end quote if we really intend to support our officers they should not be feeling this level of betrayal

09:36and disappointment in the government that they swore to defend and protect officers who put their lives on

09:43the line for us they deserve better let me take a point of privilege to say when i lost my son jordan

09:50in jacksonville florida november 23rd 2012 at a convenient door convenience store gas station

09:57by a man who never should have had a gun that convenience store family the owners at least had a

10:04had the decency to put a plaque up in remembrance of my slain son

10:12who was simply stopping to get some chewing gum as he was going from one

10:17mall to the next with his friends they at least had the decency and my son wasn't doing anything to

10:25protect the nation or protect members of congress but yet and still out of dignity and respect for

10:32someone that was slain unnecessarily they at least had the decency to put a plaque up in remembrance of

10:39my son we should no less do that for these folks that stand here every single day they take they would

10:47take bullets for us let's do the right thing why would we not honor them we can't say one thing that we

10:57want to serve and that we want to protect them and we want to make their lives better american people

11:04are watching us we can't say one thing and do another they're depending on us let's do the right

11:11thing simply just put this plaque out for all of us for their service to us and to this nation

11:20while i urge my colleagues to support this legislation i also urge them to do more than

11:29just collect data and request reports from other officials thank you and i reserve the balance of my

11:37the balance of my time gentlelady from georgia reserves

11:48you

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