Mike Carey: I-70 shootout brings sharp focus to need for congressional help to protect police

U.S. Rep. Mike Carey, R-Columbus, serves Ohio’s 15th Congressional District.

The recent shooting of a Columbus police officer on Interstate 70 has brought into sharp focus the need for Congress to come together in a bipartisan fashion to protect law enforcement.

Since the beginning of 2023, more than 195 police officers across the country have been shot in the line of duty.

This unacceptable development marks a 30% increase since 2021. Even one shooting is too many.

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Unfortunately, attacks on police officers have become all too common as crime has skyrocketed. This does not have to be the new normal, however.

My colleagues and I are backing a bipartisan effort to enhance penalties for criminals that attack a police officer. Our legislation, the Protect and Serve Act (House Resolution 743), makes it a federal crime to knowingly cause or attempt to cause serious bodily injury to a law enforcement officer.

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While there are similar laws on the books, ours applies to not only federal police officers but local law enforcement if the attacker crosses state lines or uses an interstate highway as happened with the Columbus shooting.

Criminals that knowingly target and attack law enforcement could face up to 10 years in prison under our bill.

Our bill is backed by urban, rural, and suburban police chiefs and national law enforcement organizations. Additionally, it has strong bipartisan support.

Nearly 80 House lawmakers have signaled their backing for the bill, including 11 Democrats.

Within the Ohio congressional delegation alone, the bill is backed by both Republican Rep. Bill Johnson and Democrat Rep. Greg Landsman.

This legislation is the least that Congress can do to show our brave men and women in blue that we have their back. Drops in recruitment combined with a high number of early retirements and resignations have strained our police departments. These challenges come as exploding crime has made the job of policing the most dangerous it's been in decades.

Congress can play a role in helping alleviate this crisis. Among other things, we can expand federal grants to allow police departments to offer larger recruitment bonuses and crack down on human trafficking and deadly drugs coming across our southern border.

But first, we must take a stand and assert that attacks on police will not be tolerated. Police officers put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe, while asking for little in return.

The recent shooting of a Columbus police officer shows that we can’t take them for granted.

U.S. Rep. Mike Carey, R-Columbus, serves Ohio’s 15th Congressional District.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: I-70 shootout in Columbus shows why Protect and Serve Act needed| Mike Carey