Carter to offer Bill to Combat Active Shooter Threat

Press Release

Today, Rep. John R. Carter (R-TX-31) announced legislation that will expand the available uses of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants. The "Protecting Our Lives by Initiating COPS Expansion Act of 2016 (the POLICE Act)" will provide the Department of Justice with greater flexibility in funding Active Shooter Response Training. Essentially, the legislation will add Active Shooter training to the list of activities for which COPS grants can be awarded.

"The threat of active shooters is increasingly real. Unfortunately, in Central Texas we have had more than our share of experience responding to active shooters," said Rep. Carter. "I believe our men and women of law enforcement must be afforded the opportunity to be the best trained for any situation. Including active shooter training under COPS grants will allow for an increase in first responders to undertake this elite training. The better trained our Law Enforcement Officers are, the safer we all are, and I will continue to do all I can to support our law enforcement and emergency personnel."

COPS grants are a vital tool used to hire and train police officers. The POLICE Act expands on the current use of COPS grants to include Active Shooter Response training. This provides the Department of Justice flexibility to use COPS grants to support law enforcement and medical personnel with training designed to respond to active shooter events that are plaguing our country.

The deadly attacks in Killeen, Fort Hood, San Bernardino, Sandy Hook, Washington, D.C., Virginia Tech, and Paris are cruel reminders of the threat active shooters are to society. Sadly, many first responders believe it is not if, but when, extremists will again terrorize our businesses, schools, and families. The threat is real and we must be prepared.

This bill will not result in an increase in spending, yet, it will have a positive impact on our first responders, and save lives.

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