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>> comcast supports c-span as public service along with tse other television providers giving you a front-row seat to testimony democracy. >> up next state and local law enforcement officials talk about the challenges facing their local agencies, some of the topics covered include gun violence, workforce recruitment and retention and the ongoing fentanyl crisis. they testify before the house homeland security committee chaired by congressman mark greene at the start of the hearing there was a moment of silence for new jersey congressman donald payne, jr., who died recently and who served on the committee.

>> the committee on homeland security will come to order. without objection the chair may declare the committee in recess at any point. before we begin today's hearing, i would like to take a moment to recognize the loss of our dear friend to all on this committee congressman donald payne, jr., congressman payne was a fierce advocate for the people of new jersey's tenth district, his legacy along with his father's legacy will serve as a reminder to us all of what it means to be a public servant. i really appreciate working with congressman on the cancer caucus, he was a fierce fighter against that disease. i now recognize for a moment the ranking member, ranking member hampton to honor the life and

legacycy of representative payn? >> this morning we rememberng te life of don payne, jr., he was a union worker, toll collector, he literally kept the bus of essex county, new jersey running on time. he was an new york city council member, a city council president. he was a congressman, a statesman, a son, father, brother and a husband. with a kind heart, a lo set full of bow ties and as sharp as his suits congressman payne brought people together. he gave a voice to the voiceless. he never waived, he never backed town, while he mourn the loss of our colleague and friend, we know hisw legacy lives on.

congressman payne's legacy lives on the work he did in congress including right here in this committee to make every child and every school in america safe because of congressman payne's advocacy the department of homeland security today reports to congress on school security because of a law he offered amply named the homeland security for children act, the department of homeland security must plan for children's unique needs during disasters. his legacy lives on in the hearts of his wife b and lives on in the bright futures of his children, the triplets, donald, jack and ivonne. congressman payne served washington, d.c. but his heart never left newark southward.

congressman donald payne, jr.,of leaves legacy to be proud of, my he rest in power and rest in peace, i yield back. >> i ask that the members of this committee join me in observing a moment of silence to honor the congressman payne's memory. [silence] >> thank you. the purpose of our hearing today is to receive testimony from state and t local law enforceme, officers in the hurdles that

their law enforcement agenciest face in keeping our communities safe, i now recognize myself for an opening statement. good morning, we are here to honor and recognize law enforcement officers nationwide during national police week. while our nation has always been grateful to our men and women of law enforcement, beginning in 1962 we officially began recognizing the bravery, sacrifice and unwavering acommitment to public safety on the 15th of may. supporting our men and women in law enforcement should not be reserved for one week out of the year. our nation should be grateful every day. to this unique group of men and women who risk their lives for our freedom and there's a saying that service is the rent we pay for living on our men and women who protect us daily and pay the ultimate service and far far too many the ultimate sacrifice. last year 136 law enforcement

officers were tragically killed in the line of duty this year there's been 56 and countless others injured. just a few weeks ago, april 16th, police officer acmichael jensen and lieutenant county sheriff's office in new york were both shot and killed while attempting to locate a subject who had led officers on a vehicle pursuit. officer jensen had served the syracuse police department two and a half years and he is survived by parents and sister. lieutenant served with the county sheriff's office for 16ty years. he is survived by his wife and three children. i know for them and their colleagues this loss is incomprehensible. in early may 4 law enforcement officers were killed in charlotte, north carolina while attempting to serve a warrant to a convicted felon and four more were injured, a former durham

based marshals service task force offered stated that he cannotem remember in 35-year career when eight officers were attacked in one incident. from violent attacks on law enforcement to significant increase in crime across the country, it is an understatement to say that americans no longer feel safe in their communities. we must provide reassurance, the allow abiding citizens by holding law breakers accountable and let the level of accountability serve as deterrence to others. tough prosecutions, proper sentencing are not only examples of holding criminals accountable for their actions but they send a message that federal, state and local jurisdictions will do what is necessary to protect their citizens. even more important this action will communicate our appreciation and commitment to equipping them with the resources required to fulfill their duties. increasing crime rates and obstacles prosecuting criminals are challenging enough but dealing with difficulties

without adequate men power and funding adds to the burden that law enforcement agencies across the nation are confronting. law enforcement agencies are not only grappling with unprecedented challenges and recruiting new personnel but are also contending with attrition rates and budget reductions, these factors hinder law enforcement agencies ability to fulfill obligation to safeguard americans and obstruct police departments nationwide from assessing the necessary resources to enhance their officer training and so doing these factors also increase the risk to the men and women of blue or in blue that risk all for us every day. by reducing law enforcementaw budgets police departments will face the tough decision of either lowering standards or being unable to fulfill their hiring requirements. this committee plays a critical role in overseeing the department of homeland security which aims to assist state and local tribal territorial law enforcement agencies and ensuring the safety, security

and resilience of our communities. we continue to focus on ensuring that information is efficiently shared between the federal government and state and local law enforcement agencies to combat the wide varied of threats from criminals and terrorists, different parts ofid our country have their own unique challenges when it comes to dealing with crime, it's important that c we ensure to ds is properly supporting moat metropolitan and rural communities as they confront these challenges. today i hope we can examine the way law enforcement officers agencies and identify to improve and resources provided by dhs are effective in assisting law enforcement to carry out important mission. lastly, it's crucial that as a nation we regain respect for the men and women in law enforcement who serve our communities and who pay themm ultimate sacrifice for our protections. we have a distinguished panel of witnesses to testify about the daily challenges, successes and

strategies their officers encounter in dealing with various issues within their departments and communities, thank you again to our a witness for being here this morning and i look forward to this important discussion. before i recognize the ranking member for his opening statement, i would like to welcome mr. kennedy from new york to congress and to our committee, i look forward to working with you and i will say that your addition here takes us to 7 members from new york. i think you are now 21% of this committee, so not sure what that means but we are glad to have you. it actually reflects back to the start of this committee and really what started it all. so we are very glad to have you. i now recognize the ranking lamember, the gentleman from mississippi mr. thompson for his opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank our panel of witnesses for being here today and for their service to our

country. in honor of national police week i also want to recognize incredible contributions, law enforcement and honor those bravee officers who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our communities safe. our nation is forever in their debt. today the committee is meetingio to examine how congress can support state and local law enforcement, this is an important question. national police week is of great importance but congressional support more law enforcement is about more than attending a ceremony or wearing a blue ribbon and supporting law enforcement not just ceremonial words or symbolic gestures but showing up when it counts and voting for the resources our police officers need every day. it's about saying no when a disgraced former president calls forr defunding the fbi or certan

members threat to cut off funding for dh serving because they have political disagreements with the biden administration. it's about keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of those who seek to harm our communities, our kids, our houses of worship, our super markets, our gathering places and the police sworn to protect all of us and it's about honoring the heroic law enforcement officers, capitol police, metropolitan police and others who protected and defended this very capitol and everyone in it on january 6th, 2021. while extreme major republicans tried to cut funding and undermine trust in law enforcement, democrats are committed to providing federal state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement with funding and support to even our communities safe. democrats have made historic

investments in public safety, law enforcement, school security, gun violence prevention and nonprofit security for churches, synagogues and school. as a result, violent crime has dropped across nearly every category during the biden administration. we are proud of doing right by law enforcement but recognize more remains to be done. i hope to hear from our witnesses today about supporting community policing efforts across the country and how congress can help fund these critical efforts. i also hope to hear from our witnesses how we can encourage police forces to recruit diverse candidates including people of color and women because police forces work best when they reflect the communities they serve, again, i thank the witnesses for joining us today and express my appreciation for all the men and women of law

enforcement who serve communities across america withf honor and integrity. those words have been and will continue to be backed up by action. before i close, mr. chairman, i want to take a moment to welcome as you did a new member of our committee, the gentleman from new york, mr. kennedy. while we have quite a few new yorkers serving on this panel as already been said, mr. kennedy it is the only one that represents a district in western new york. the district is d located on the u.s.-canada border and has multiple international crossings including the peace bridge. i know he will be actively engaged on northern borders issues and we welcome it. mr. kennedy also recently chaired the new york state senate transportation committee which will be invaluable to his service on this committee's

transportation and maritime subcommittee. we look him and we wish you well. with that, mr. chairman, i yield back. >> thank you, sir. other members to have committee are reminded that opening statements are submitted for ths record. i ask that our witnesses please rise and raise their right hand. do you solemnly swear that the testimony that you're about to give on[w homeland security in e united states house of representatives will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. threat record reflect that the witnesses have answered in the i affirmative, thank you, you may be seated. i would like to formerly introduce our witnesses, thees honorary gregory may serve as the department prior to his appointment with the united states secret service serving in a variety of roles to expand

25-year and following naval flight, pleated multiple deployments including numerous missions in support of operation desert storm. chair mike chapman, was reelect today his fourth term in 2023,le he direct it is largest full service sheriff's office in common wealth of virginia and employs and serves population of approximately 447,000 residents inol an area of 519 square mile. sheriff chapman has been leader of proactive and successful law enforcement and community engagementsu programs. during tenure major crime decreased 37%, greatest reduction of any jurisdiction in the washington metropolitan area. he has also successfully led efforts in addressing the heroin anddd most recently fentanyl problems that have impacted

loudoun county. mr. michael bullock, police association, during his time as president he has worked to address the recruiting and retention problems that have affected the austin police department. president bullock is a 6-year veteran ofes the austin policeff department. mr. rodney bryant serves as the president of the national black law enforcement executives prior to his work with the national black law enforcement executives mr. bryant served 34 years in the police department. during career he climbed the ranks, senior police, sergeant, assistant commander and major, highlights of his career include leading command of the college football playoff championship in 2018 and super bowl -- and super bowl 53 in 2019. hi retired in 2022 as the 25th chief of the department. i thank all the witnesses for being here today and recognize deputy commissioner mays.

>> thank you, chairman green and ranking membermp thompson for holding the hearing and the invitation to testify on some of the critical law enforcement and security issuesti facing the american homeland. the tennessee office of homeland security is a law enforcement agency but statewide jurisdiction. our primary mission is to investigate threats to life, threats to our schools, to protect our state's critical infrastructure and major events and to work with our federal state and local partners to prepare for and mitigate any threat to our state. our department's overall mission to protect, secure the people of tennessee, we said about every day to accomplish that mission. as we gather here today during national police week to honor the fallen policeti officers across our nation, it's also a time for us to discuss our to focus on the challenges face bid local law enforcement and threats to our homeland.

my testimony will focus on 3 areas to highlight some successes and challenges and i thank you again for the opportunity to be here. i would like to start with security in our schools on march 27th, 2023 nashville was rocked, 3 children and 3 adults lost their lives in addition to the shooter who was killed by police while she was still shooting at officers from a second-story window of the school. the shooting so close to home further steeled our resolve to prevent something similar from happening again. we approached security in tennessee by focusing in 3 main areas, physical security, door locks, et cetera, sometimes the simple solutions are the best.pl secondly, we must have proper response and training so there are officers respond properly just as the metro national police department did at the covenant shooting. and third, perhaps the most

complex we must investigate osevery credible threat and evaluate the subject's capability and intent c to act violently. research such as the u.s. secret service national threat assessment study published in 2021 titled school violence looked at 67 school attacks, 94% to have school shooters told gsomebody they were going to do it. the other 6% were behaving so oddly that someone else reported them. so we can take away from thatwa that in all, we have ears turned and listening and respond when threats come to our schools. we encourage this type of reporting and the tennessee office of homeland security operates a 24/7 threat desk. we are since the start of this school year we have received

approximately 322 threats to tennessee schools, that amounts to a little over 1 threat to a tennessee school every day. in the interest of time here, i'd like to pivot now to the subject of grants. tennessee has benefited greatly from our federal homeland security grant program funding for these state and territorial preparedness grants has dropped 44% and we rely on the programs, state and local law enforcement to and the grant programs save lives. as an example on july 31st, 2023 a suspect attempted to gain entry to the hebrew academy in memphis with the apparent intent to kill those inside the jewish school. after unsuccessful attempts to gain entry through locked doors the subject fired shots outside the school and fled. he was encountered by police a

short distance away, was taken into custody after brandishing a weapon, the school credited the recent security upgrades as saving lives and they wrote a letter to my office and i wantte to read just a couple of sentences from it, quote, the i imimplementation of the latest security grant, he's talk about the nonprofit security grant from dhs, the implementation of the latest security grant allowed us to reinforce our entrances with new doors and ultimately preventing the shooter from gaining entry. additionally the cameras installed from the previous grant played a pivotal role in assisting law enforcement and locating and neutralizing the shooter swiftly. again, these grant funds save lives and as federal funding for these programs decline the needs are increasing. in tennessee, we do not rely just on federal funding for the nonprofit grants, we have a

state funded program and as an illustration of how how much of a need there is, last year we received $2.2 million in requests and far outstripping the $750,000 in state funds that i had to award. in the interest of time i will conclude my testimony there, thank you. i recognize -- >> thank you, mr. chairman, ranking member and members of the committee, my name is mike chapman, i'm the elected chairman of loudoun county, virginia. home to 450,000 residents. i'm in my 46-year of law enforcement and having served as police officer and 23 years as administration as special agent from coast to coast and in 3

foreign assignments. prior to being elected sheriff i served 3 years as a law enforcement subject matter expert with booze allen and i bring firsthand knowledge of police work, federal experience, private-sector perspective and complexities associated with the elected officer of sheriff. i'm here today on behalf ofal national sheriff's association and serve as the sheriff for homeland security and board of directors. i would like to address hearing how congress can support state and local law enforcement. historically and currently law enforcement collaborates regardless if it is a sheriff's office or police department. when national law enforcement organizations collectively present their concerns and positions whether in support or opposition to legislation congress needs to listen. congress' decision can significantly impede law enforcement performance investigations or even

recruiting. supplying grant money or funding is not the cure all, congress in all aspects is essential. this is national police week as america honors the day-to-day services sacrifice of our law enforcement community and on this day, memorial day we honor those who have given their lives in the line of duty. this year we have already witnessed 58 line of truth deaths among law enforcement officers with 23 of those by gun fire. our job is dangerous and we need to help, serve and protect our communities and ourselves. we ask that you recognize how law enforcement has and continues to raise the bar, the progress that i have witnessedit since i was hired as a police officer back in 1978 when it comes the training, professionalism, best practices is nothing short of amazing. it is important that you recognize the progress and publicly show support, your support for our profession.

it is also important that yount listen so that you can help us do our jobs better. let's start with the intelligence gathering and police response, currently there are 80 state locally run fusion centers in 50 states and u.s. territories. they receive federal grant g funding which accounts for about one-third of the cost of operation. there's also federal state and local coordination through six strategically placed regional systems, risk center across the u.s. considering that local law enforcement are the boots on the ground, it is critical that federal information flows quickly in our direction even if the information is incomplete. the responsibility for this communication in coordination primarily falls under the department of homeland security intelligence and analysis, ina and it's the only federal entity that has statutorily required to coordinate homeland security threat information sharing law

enforcement governments throughout the fusion centers. congress should ensure that ina is equipped and empower today carry out that mission effectively. in loudoun county i experienced poor communication both laterally and with other federal agencies and onward to state and local agencies. in february of 2022 i was made aware of some 1,000 evacuees from afghanistan that would be arriving in loudoun county following withdrawal from afghanistan. this would be the first wave during six-month period all to be located at the national conference center and suburban resident of our country next to middle and high school. i immediately reached out to chief of staff for additional i was and to question lack of notification earlier to local enforcement and safety partners. we needed to know how well evacuees were vetted, if school

personnel and community members living with and walking distance in that community were notified. if any houses of worry help had been contacted, language capability services had been retained and how security would be conducted. unfortunately, none of these concerns had been addressed. dhs subsequently postponed resettlement for two weeks still not addressing these issues. i alerted the public and organized a community stakeholders' meeting including dozen of agencies which led to specific assignments and for the most part alleviated the apprehension to the community, or local initialive made a huge difference for the next six months, potential chaos was averted and no major public safety incidents. this is extraordinary effort how it would not have been necessary had dhs communicated and organized plan. we hope that this will improve in the future.

it is critical that we receive timely information to get ahead of the curve. we need your help, we need your backing to our local officers and deputies, thank you again for holding this hearing and for listening. >> thank you, sheriff chapman. >> chairman greene, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. my name is michael bullock and i'm the president of the austin police association in texas as well as the senior police officer with the austin police department. hei wish it were amidst better times but the time of week honoring law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty sets the tone for the state of our profession. the state of law enforcement is dire. we all recognize that criminal justice as a whole is a complex policy issue for which no singular solution exists but if we continue to do nothing the sense of lawlessness being

perpetuated in centers across the country will only get worse. austin is the tenth largest city in the united states with a million people living in the capitol of texas. we are 700 officers short of where studies done by the city of austin have shown we need to be. our staffing issues can be linked to a few key events that struggles are shared by agencies all across the country. in 2017 the austin city council unanimously voted against the president with the austin police association which govern it is wages, benefits and working conditions of the men and women of the austin police department. as a result beginning follow 2018 we have had more officers leave our department each year than have joined. compounding this problem in 2020 was when our city leaders defunded our department by $150 million cut 150 authorized positions and canceled cadet classes all for the sake of

political posturing. our staffing has been in from fall that led us to vacancy rate of over 30%. little surprise that after decision exodus from the department began that a year later the number of homicides nearly doubled. the last 3 years have been the highest homicide numbers in austin's history. though we are not a border city the impact of immigration policies is felt by us as well. our city has asked for help from the texas state troopers who came for a time and had a notable impact on crime by increasing patrol presence but due to the ongoing border crisis they were called away to help secure the texas border nooned longer able to help us in austin. as a result in may of 2023 teenagers shot and killed a man in southeast usa inn when attempting to rob him, the reason they gave for this chain

heinous crime while at the same time seeing the prosecutors target officers which unturn encouraged criminals to be violent towards law enforcement, over the same time periods wenf have seen a myriad of critical incidents take place. austin has dealt with a serial bomber killing our residents. we've had numerous mass shootings including one breaking out tugger largest festivals that draws people across the country to visit our city. most notably on our minds an incident that took the life of one of our own. on november 11th, 2023 in the early morning hours swat team was called where armed suspect was barricaded inside residencer and stabbed member with two held hostage inside. knowing this vile suspect had already attempted to kill one of his own family members and

willingly shot at our fellow law enforcement officers our swat team went law the door to try andd save lives. after going in they were met by gunfire from the suspect who was well armed and wearing body armor. while the suspect was ultimately killed it came at a high price. two of our officers were shot, one of which was officer george pastor who paid the ultimate sacrifice. across this country we see a lai enforcement shot in the line of duty every 21 hours. this year alone we've had over 145 officers shot which has been increasing year over year. our job is to uphold the constitution and enforce the laws passed by yourselves as well as your state and local counterparts. this is a charge that we take seriously and one we are willing to sacrifice our lives for. i sit before you today, though, pleading for your help. we need help in addressing ouraf staffing needs, support in enforcing our laws, providing

better training resources andaw transcending the political rhetoric to end the war on law enforcement and restore law and order in our country. the trends we see in austin are not isolated and if not reversed i fear that lawlessness is all but inevitable. again, thank you for your time and for taking up this important matter, mr. chairman. thank you, mr. bryant, for your testimony. i'm sorry, mr. bullock for your testimony and i now recognize mr. bryant for his five minutes, summarize his opening statement. >> mark greene, ranking member thompson and committee members i bring you greetings on behalf of the executive board, members and constituents to have national organization of black law enforcement executives. my name is rodney bryant and i'm the national president.

i have served more than 35 years in law enforcement profession in various positions of increasing responsibilities to include serving as a patrol officer and sending all ranks to become the 25th chief of police of the city of atlanta. it is an honor for noble to provide written testimony on the topic of standing strong on the thin blue line how congress can support local law enforcement. i will be remiss if i did not recognize that this week is national police week where we

honor and remember those law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. in 2023 approximately 136 offered died in the line of duty representing a 40% reduction compared to 2022. however, one officer is one too many. noble will continue to standnu vigilant and in solidarity with law enforcement and effort to reduce the statistics. we invite congress to join us and n this noble pursuit. on april 29th, our nation experienced the deadliest attack against law enforcement officers since 2016, an ar-15 semiautomatic rifle and a 40 caliber handgun were deployed in charlotte, north carolina shooting that result in four law

enforcement officers being killed and wounding four others. i stand heartfelt prayers and offices,es to the families, agencies and affected communities. noble is very concerned about the level of gun violence in the united states and specifically the correlation between violence and proliferation of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazine. it is our organization's opinion that violence particularly gun violence is a public health issue and where all public health issues it demands a comprehensive nonjudgmental pragmatic evidence-based approach to saving lives and reducing injuries. a positive step toward addressing the level of gun violence in our nation has taken with the passage of the bipartisan safer communities act.

noble supported this legislation the bill combined combined gun safety, legislation with mental health, school security resources, we add noble recommend that in addition to bipartisan safer communities act that congress and law enforcement profession and communities across this nation work to secure the passage of bipartisan legislation that at minimum will address the following mandate universal background checks, assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and mandate safe gun storage. it is noble's belief and many in our profession that the continued relaxation of gun laws poses a real danger to the law lenforcement officers and the community. it is my opinion that the law enforcement profession is in need of comprehensive federal legislation such as the george floyd justice and policing act.

noble did support the biden administration executive's orders on advancing effective accountable policing and criminal justice practice to enhance public trust and public safety. there are key elements in the order that we feel are responsible and actionable such as accountable workforce support, use of force and resources support for mental health and behavioral health services. our organization recommends to congress a bipartisan effort to find common ground on a very basic constitutional right within the 14th amendment, equal protection under the law for many parts of our societies, city, citizens have not felt h equally protected by key american constitution law enforcement and many communities of color, the first name of unarminged citizens that were

killed by officers that protect and serve resonate today and for generations to come. lastly, i appeal to our congressional leaders on both parties tore continue to support our federal law enforcement agencies in the areas of funding, public support and policies that ensure that theyt maintain their readiness. on behalf of the national organization of law enforcement executives, i thank you for supporting our profession and our ability to remain public safety. our members stand ready to meet,

thank you again for this opportunity to provide testimony. >> members, recognized by order of seniority for five minutes of questioning. ddadditional questions may be cl after all members are recognized. i now recognize myself for five minutes of testimony. >> first, i would like to start with mr. mays. you mentioned 3 sort of avenues of approach or so to speak, using military term through which you guys are working on school safety and you talk specifically about training. can you describe training that you're talking about and dhs and the federal government are assisting in that area? >> thank you, mr. chairman, for the question.

the officers did not know each other. it was so god that if you watched the body camera video it looks like they trained together every day. so training works and the procedures that needed to be in place are now pretty universal through system called alert and school resource officers are trained in this, police officers are trained, homeland security,

agents in tennessee are trained in this response. we believe that's a key part of school security and much more important are just as important as the response is not waiting until danger is at the doorstep as i stated in my written testimony about the -- averted school attack study we hear a lot of information about planned school attack. we must go out and confront that threat and determine whether there's capability and intent before it ends up on the doorstep of the school. >> recently came to the state and did little bit of training, was that helpful, do you know about third trip to tennessee aand what they did? >> i do not, mr. chairman, i'm not familiar that particular trip. i think they worked with thp on that. >> thank you.

mr. bullock, you described impact of budget, budget cuts and mass shortage of officers, what's the impact on the officers on the force stress wise, marriages, things like that for the huge shortages of personnel? >> it takes a tremendous toll on officers just as an example because of the severe shortages that we are experiencing officers who are assigned as a detective that should be investigating major crimes like homicides, robberies and things of that nature are having to work patrol shifts so they are being sent back to patrol and are diverted away from their assigned duties as anig investigator in order to take 911 calls and so they are having to do that on that each quarter.

it adds another layer of unpredictability to unpredictable job so we do see increase in officer who is may w have issues at home that may deal with alcohol use, a variety of things that come as a result of increased stress. >> what about the rhetoric that there's been -- it's died down a little bit. how has that impacted morale atv the officer level? >> it has a pretty devastating impact as well because you feel like you are not valued for what you're being asked to. .. .. ..

>> thank you. i know it you'll recognize the ranking member for five minutes ofnk questioning. >> thank you. one of the questions comments that ran through everyone's opening statement was the threat ofle violence that occurs in ths country. most of those threats have

occurred with the use of firearms. some of us advocate universal background checks for people who own guns. i am a hunter. i't try to get in the woods evey chance i get. every now and then i get lucky. and bring something home. i do not have a problem with whatever the requirements are to on that gun. i am a law-abiding gun owner. i would like to ask each witness their position on background checks to be able to purchase a gun. >> thank you ranking member thompson for the question. whether it is background checks or extreme risk protection orders whatever it may be

necessary would like to keep "guns out" of the hands of people who should not have them. i have spent my career state law enforcement as a secret surface secret or suffering from mental illness people who are homicidal. people who are delusional and they have guns. we have very little tools available to take the weapon away. i'm not too worried about law-abiding citizens likeen yourself who go hunting. it's people who are at limited d capacity or bad intentions this is where the mental health piece or a law enforcement piece need to work better together i've encountered people over my career who are admitting to be there mentally depressed and calling a pistol in his hand at the call his dad and try to check out the piss of no way to take away from them.

>> i understand. let me say what we did for the federal people in dhs we passed a specific piece of legislation to help with the mental health of those people. we talked to the family members and other people who are distressed. sheriff can you address that? >> i have an agreement with my colleague here. the people who are criminals to get the guns they don't necessarily get them, purchase them properly the way they should with a background check. we do have background checks commonwealth of virginia. half of the details quite frankly exactly what you need about universal background check. a lot of that is always done in the commonwealth of virginia. my biggest concerns all of these weapons are stolen for their

stolen used in crimes. want.n do whatever you the fact of the matter is we have told these people accountable to use guns in crimes and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. by that then concentrated change laws that are really going to impact the honest citizen buying a gun. >> sure if we will not debate it an honest citizen can get a gun. if there is a dishonest citizen and it may be 5%, 2% that's one of those steps we can do to mitigate that. >> i like to hit on what was just said a large part of it would yield the stolen firearms. a certain understand the question about universal background checks for coming from texas we like our guns as well offers are probably best spent in holding people accountable that are breaking the law for active including

people who are knowingly using stolen firearms. >> thank you very much, mr. brian? >> likewise i think universal background checks will assist us in issues we are seeing. in the aspect will not be beneficial but to law enforcement officers as well. >> thank you very much. one more question generate six angry supporters looked into friends at by the former president watt marsh on the white house a-uppercase-letter broke a police barricade, smashed windows and assaulting police officers in an attempt to obstruct the democratic process. over 140 officers protecting the capitol were insured that day.

police officers died in the days and weeks followed. do you agree violence against police officers was unjustified? >> absolutely. sheriff? >> any violence against police officers during their job should not be allowed any sense of the word. noone who does should be fully prosecuted for. >> to take this same stance anyone who commits violence against law enforcement should not be tolerated. >> i agree. lawfully doing their job should not be tolerated. you'll back mr. chair. cooks are judgment yields i now recognize the gentleman from mississippi and vice chair of the committee for five minutes of o questions. >> think it mr. germans were witnesses i thank you for being with us this morning.

chief, before we begin i was wondering if you could give the committee at that, if you have any on the three officers in atlanta who were shot over the weekend. >> absolutely, thank you so much for inquiring. all three are in recovery. spoke to the chiefov immediately after the incident occurred. he is continue to update me as a courtesy to inform me they are improving thank you so much for asking. >> if you would please those officers our thoughts and prayers are with them during their period ofin recovery they will be remembered this week. as we look at the headlines for today's hearing. an officer involved shooting one came at 3:00 a.m. this morning new mexico state police investigating officer involved

shooting that left a police officer injured. headline for may the 12th shot dead by it law enforcement after opening fire and amazon warehouse. t identify a man killed by police sunday the government was fatally shot by law enforcement after he shot a columbus police officer. also headline from a the 12th, police officer dead after ambush shooting. the first paragraph said first year police officer in his 20s was shot dead saturday night what authorities describe as an ambush after officers responded to a disturbance on east into 11th street. we referenced and spoke of the atlanta police officers who were shot and injured this weekend as they respond to a call involving an armed gunmen.

it wased mentioned if one if not several of the opening statements by the office of the shooting that happened in late april in charlotte where we had four officers killed in four anr other officers who were wounded in that particular incident. insult my question and i'll start with you are law enforcement officers, are they safer today than they were three years ago? >> thank you for the question but that is a tough one to answer. i have a sense that it is worse out there on the streets i do not wear a uniform every dayay o i get that information from talking. >> not asking to explain why you feel yes or no. and again as if your opinion deputy commissioner you are

involved every day, do you feel law enforcement officers are safer today than there were three years ago? yes or no. >> no. >> sheriff? >> no i don't infect the fbi just reported yesterday 79000 law enforcement officers in 2023 werere assaulted that as a tenue high so with that shows this increase in assaults on law enforcement officers. to answer your question whether safer there certainly betterou equipped and can save lives much better than we did in the past. but for sure they're not as safe as they were in the past. >> very quickly have got a couple of the questions, mr. bolt do believe officers are safer than there were three years ago question. >> no super. >> jeff you believe? >> the see the increase in violence against police officers today i would have to say no due to the increase. >> thank you for your answers to the things they want to focus on very quickly and i'll probably only have the time to focus on one dose reference project

leader testimony to the challenges you are seeing because of that. they're not referencing other testimony as a strain on a law enforcement. the other thing i want to touch on very briefly as it relates to you there have been some allegations.me about the prosecutor there and k of this briefly and calculate the cnn article seven people died in connection with the salt nypd officer outside my crucial truth. it's vibrate the eighth the article says seven people been indicted with an assault last month unto new york police officers near times square authorities are working to

identify threeen others who were involved. the indictment comes to the case because of the migrant status of at least some of the defendants four of these been in the indictment were released last week. our rogue prosecutors, do they pose a i risk to law enforcement in general? i will let you answer yes or no very quickly because i'm over time with that i wheeled back. >> yes. >> a gentleman yields. >> can answer the question? >> if you would answer the question i yield back i apologize for being over time. >> go ahead sir. briefly. >> absolutely. >> not just to police but to j e as a y whole. >> thank you very much i yield extra money is a recognize the general from california mr. swallow the ranking member on cybersecurity subcommittee.

>> always a bitter sweet week in washington d.c. we remember the fallen. those who have given their lives in the service of their community over the last year produces i'm for fellowship and sisterhood and coming together at our nations t capitol. the first want to honor the service of those who lost last year. i want to thank each of you for your service went to go through a couple different incidents of this committee's focus on this congress has focused on and get your perspective. do you agree that the officers who defend the capitol and geney six the heroes? >> yes, sir, i would agree. >> how about you sheriff?

>> anybody puts their lives on the line i would agree and you and assaulted certainly by the writers were heroes. >> and how about you? >> of standby the same or any officer puts on this uniform lawfully doing their duties is a hero in my book. >> and you? >> i am a concurrence that any person that puts on this uniform and honorably served out their career is a hero. absolutely. >> mr. mays if you assaulted or physically harmed it officer on january 6 does that make you criminal? >> in an assaulted officer and generally six and that iser arrested and convicted is a criminal, yes, sir. >> mr. chapman? >> assaults on law enforcement officers a crime so yes that would be a crime.

>> theul same. >> mr. brandt question. >> bryant question. wouldm in agreement it become a criminal book works by the way support legislation the judiciary committee that would make assaulting or committing battery gets a law-enforcement officer a second class of crimes crimes. >> adjournment use which is a second for. >> they do that intensity. we should do it federally. >> one last question as itue relates to january 6 you believe anyone who is convicted of harming officer generally six is a hostage? if they are present for that? >> no, sir, i do not. quick sheriff? >> or don't really understand the question. >> i don't either. do you believe calling a januars appropriate they're in prison there hostage?

>> i would say anybody that assaulted a law-enforcement officer that was charged with it and going to the legal process the appropriate action is being taken. >> regardless of the event if someone is charged with aha crie due process and can convicted their convicted criminal. >> i do not consider n someone o was arrested for assaulting a police officer hostage. >> on to point out there are some on this communicant not all certainly not thee, chairman you have advocated for deep funding the fbi do you think we should define the fbi? >> no, sir. quick sheriff? >> no start of his son and the fbi said no i want to keep them employed at. [laughter] >> no, sir. >> no, sir. >> i want to have some real talk

with you all and some of my colleagues i am the son of a cop. my brothers are cops, i was a prosecutor law-enforcement for our family is not a career, it is a way of life. it's about putting the bad guys away and keeping the community safe. and so to me when i hear so my colleagues not all but some of them on this committee thumped their chest and said that back the blue but then they're going to call january 6 hostage and sought back in thehe blue that's back in the coop. when they say they back the blue but the second the blue rates the house of their preferred candidate for presidentou that's not back in the blue that's black ink backing a fool. i'm all about supporting law enforcement honoring them during police week but we've got to be consistent. police do not give a rip about politics and want to serve the community really want to be independent free of politics we should back them everything they do their job expect a high >>

accountability but not expect them to wear red team/blue team went suits them i yield back. >> of judgment yields direct denies mr. gimenez the gentleman from miami, florida for questioning. >> thank youou very much and mot of you probably know i was a firefighter in public mostly we do not know is a special officer who served on the swat team for the city of miami police department.ce our road a red file truck during difficult times the road with the police department. i honor the four of you for your service. in public safety is of miami of mayor miami-dade i was a sheriff of miami-dade. one of the things i did was after the incident in paris, france i've mandated all of my patrol officers be equipped with

ar-15 and enhance body armor. is that something which is normal in the united states? do you think we should protect our police o officers more? we are asking them to take their life and put at risk. should we, either as a community or a country also give them the protection they need in order to carry out their task? i'll ask the four of you is something normal or something unusual? >> thank you for the question. protecting law-enforcement officers is essential that comes to the form of equipment comical big body armor, the rifle the weapons, radios, less that leave withthe four methods it also includes the training. all but together they need to be properly equipped. >> but is that normal? are the officers in this country sufficiently protected across

the nation? is it jurisdiction to jurisdiction? >> i don't know that i can answer for the entire nation. about state of tennessee it's general jurisdiction by jurisdiction it depends on funding. >> i would agree its jurisdiction by jurisdiction or certain miami of the drug enforcement administration a high danger it was a leader in the cocaine words down there. you think we need to be equipped well. we need to defend ourselves it is very violent criminals out there. that does come down to a jurisdictional issue those committees feel about police and law enforcement office in this area should be equipped. >> on the swat team during the cocaine war so yesai. >> i would say that's probably not the normal. also every officer is not equipped within a are nor are they all certified to use oneth per se. as well as us getting enhanced enhancethe body armor and is not standardized they don't carry it them all the time.

>> would you want that? >> absolutely. >> mr. brian questioned. >> thank you as a representative of law enforcement not just naturally but internationally i an that it goes from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. assign an equal level of distribution, or equipment or training we have to improve upon that nationally. second question is director wray informed us because of the openness of the border that he expects or he has apprehensions about a possible terrorist attack here in the united states. because frankly is about 2 million people we haven't the faintest idea where they came from, who they are, where they are or why they are here. to the same apprehensions that director wray had? >> yes, sir, i do. very concerned about people

coming across the southern border that we do not know where they are and weer do not know where they are going. >> aptly concerns me yes. >> out also agreedd we deal with on a regular basis and interact with individuals who have no form of identification. >> yes we trust the information being provided to us by director wray. i am ant in agreement. >> do you feel the federal government is giving you enough in the area of intelligence to bee able to protect your jurisdictions to the best of your ability in light of the fact the director wray believes there is a grave threat to the homeland from terrorists unknown to us. go ahead. what a time. yes, sir.

we are not getting all the information the federal government is apparently unable to tell us how many immigrants are coming to tennessee, where they are going in the states, where they came from. we do i not have that informati. if i don't even know how many are coming, or therefrom then how can i begin to understand what kind of threat they posed to my state? >> of good relationship with our work federal counter is information we get his person-to-person contract. i was is always the communication could be better. >> were probably little morebl different and that we have issues with our local officials that tend to try to restrict our use of information that's trying to be passed on to us or accessible to us. >> having a strong relationship

is essential to what we do. however we do recognize there is a level of challenges around intelligence and the information. >> think again for your service i yield back my judgment yields i recognize mr. ivey the gentleman from maryland for five minutes. >> think it mr. chairman. and i thank you for calling this hearingay today. ie appreciate the panel of witnesses as well. deputy commissioner i was especially impressed with your testimony. t it was right at the alley of the types of things we can do here on the committee and think that we should hear about. your points about the school shootings i thought was very helpful. one thing i did have a question about is you mentioned about 94% there is an opportunity to preempt some of these students because we have information someone is planning on doingan . 94% of the time but could you elaborate a bit on things

especially here in congress to help address that. >> thank you for that question. those study numbers are compelling and national threat assessment center i referenced the maroons it is not the only one there are multiple studies. again and again i tells most attacks on schooll target violence as it were as a pathway to violence if we can be involved moving the shooter from pathway to violence we have a chance stopping something from happening but unfortunately there is no real shortcut. it's roll up your sleeve and get out there and talk to the person intervention it's a is a multidisciplinary team approach. but this types of programs. just last year in tennessee

prior to last year was permissive but not required. a l new state law has made thata mandate. part of the governor's initiativein to put a homeland security in those counties is to coordinate the multidisciplinary approach which is needed. hope that answers your question progressive does, because i might follow up with you after words as well. action forgot to welcome our new member from new york i'll take the chairman's point we are close to having a quorum for new york delegation meetings on the committee but certainly welcome you. >> i didn't want to make a point with you mr. chairman and my colleagues here. i had a chance to visit the secret service facility on my district for the training.

some of the training they do and i take the point terms of the testimony today are difficult to be it's quite surprised to see our secret service does not have a facility for training on protecting the white house. so when they took me out to show me what they do they took us to an open field literally for this and imagine the treatment at the back is the white b house the rd we are on will be pennsylvania avenue. they did the demo was people coming and the dog went out and intercepted them and all of that it was like playing pickup football. aser a kid the pine tree is a touchdown line. that is what the doing to prepare for tax in the whitete house. one of things i would like to ask at some point, not today obviously t it's a kind of think we did take a look out and figure out ways to help them get some kind of environment.

the best they can do now is tyler perry built a mock white house for a movie or something. some of the same thing as the real thing certainly would not be the kind of place you want to do training to protect the president of the united states and thet family. that is what that got right now i'd love to have a chance for us to take a look at that as a committee and see it this way you step up with that front. and from that let me end with this. national police work i think the charming and for holding the hearing i think all of you for the service you provide. the risk you have taken, the sacrifices you and your families have made. and for police officers around the country and their families as well. i was a local prosecutor. the first collection 2002. before i took office two police officers were gunned down trying

to serve a warrant for mental health issue. they were in the guys at parents house they did not know there is a firearm for the guns issue there's a mental health's issue. those are the kinds of things me too talk about more as we move through these. that thank you to you and law rienforcement officers around te country for the sacrifices you make in the work you do to protect the country and our communities. with that i yield back. >> the judgment yields, sounds t eight rock drill doesn't it? >> send out recognize mr. gonzalez the gentleman from texas for his five minutes of questioning. >> thank you gentlemen and thank you gentlemen for your service and thank you police search of the men and women who serve alongside you that this committee is committed to make as you have all the tools they need to be successful in keeping americans safe. in particular i want too thank

mr. bullitt,no justin berry is a good friend of mine an officer there in austin. i hear a lot about behind-the-scenes what is happening. and in many cases ini feel as if you are serving behind enemy lines. i want to take this opportunity to really tear into the travis county district attorney i think that guys in a terrible job. that individual has made that community unsafe. those types of situations need to go away. for the safety of all citizens, not this ideology or the other -- and my question is to you, sir. in recent years rogue prosecutors have brought radical ideas on how to approach our criminal justice system. we are seeing prosecutors refusing to prosecute offenders and allowing low volume amounts for violent criminals. we've seen criminals posting bond that end up committing more violent crimes, in some cases

shooting police officers and endangering the community. this is the a dangerous trend and tells communities that there are no real penalties for breaking the law. my question to you, mr. bullock, is what are some of the tool that state states or congress might be able to use to reel in some of these criminal-friendly are prosecutors? >> thank you, sir. undoubtedly, it's an issue i that we deal with. it iss an issue that we deal with. the enforcement aspect is the biggest part where laws are passed and in place but yet we have individuals that h decide n their own not to enforce those laws. in particular when offices are targeted that she comes a federal crime because then we tend to have these working relationships with u.s. attorneys that do prosecute those crimes along with the other drug crimes that we have

for example recently in austin we h had almost 80 overdoses. we've a prosecutor that drops any controlled substance under a gram and that can be -- extremely beneficial. >> i feel as if you are doing your part of the job putting the uniform on, going to work trying to protectg your community then when you pass the ball off to the prosecuting standpoint you have people throwing the ball thel other way. i recently introduced an act of one ofhi the things i think was

interesting is it includes any attack against a police officer to include explosive materials such as fireworks and other dangerousal weapons. we talk about a police officer getting shot in the line of duty. what i'm starting to see is this morphls into something else. these criminals and rioters are using fireworks, bottles of water that have been frozen. are you seeing an increase, are your office is under attack with these other areas? >> other things he mentions such as high-powered layers errors are an issue as well. we've even recently discovered a dry chemical that can be thrown and then it can be potentially lethal depending on how it is treated. these are things we are having to prepare for now. >> i see this growing and also

we have to get ahead of it. it can'thi just be firearms. mike l last question i have neay the overall southern border and one of the questions i want to ask is about license plate readers. one thing i hear from a sheriffs'la license plate reades are a a game changer. you're ablee to find out more information and to get an aspect of it so just in general, what is your thoughts on interacting license plate readers and the data along that into your county? >> critical information helps us up and down the coast. anyone in the area gives an update on anything that might have been like a crime that occurred where we can go back and track it. license plate readers you might have been in the neighborhood and you can get yourself a suspect and prosecution based on

something as simple as a bat. they are t critical to what we o and we need access to that information and it does help us quite s a bit. >> thank you and i yield back. >> i now recognize mr. garcia. >> i want to thank you all for your service as well. i was the mayor of long beach. for the last eight years so i worked with our police department obviously very closely and i'm proud of the men and women that serve in the departments across the country and i also want to thank them for working in those eight years to focus on also issues that i believe made the department focused on issues are not of diversity, equity, community policing and other initiatives that made the department inclusive of the community. now we know law enforcement can keep people safe and it shouldn't be a partisan issue. people understand when we talk about supporting the police we need to follow through on the support in congress and real

action, not just partisan messaging bills. we need to make sure we can hire andop recruit talented people to the police departments that also includes the means of federal funding. to defend federal support programs for communityty polici? >> absolutely. many work together in the ecosystem and so any defunding of the agencies will have a significant impact on the local enforcement agencies as well as we typically have. >> i assume you are familiar with the federal funding program as well, which as we all know if you ask any police department across the country in any urban

large cities, they are critical for the police departments. 80% of the majority have signed on to a budget that actually eliminates and reduces funding for the federal departments and it's important that we keep that funding and support law enforcement across the country. i also want to show you this graph that's important. we would attract the data from across the country. you can see here the surge of homicides by 30% to the highest level in 2020 and overall we know it's been decreasing even though some like to scare folks and act like somehow we are in a massive cry of wave even though we know that is not true. we do see a small increase. who was president in 2020? >> in 2020 it was president

trump. >> if you look at the graph, it's either one spike that we had during donald trump's presidency and since then, crime is beginning to decrease. we are now reaching lower levels because president biden and others have invested in community policing and safety and entering we not just focus on the policing side but also invest in communities. so i just want to be very clear when donald trump was president, talking about what happened in the country as it relates to crime, he's actually wrong so i want to make that note and say one final thing. as you know, going back to january 6,nl we talk about policing and supporting police

officers. i toured the jail and one other member in the majority and when we did that, unfortunately, those prisoners and insurrectionist's were treated like heroes and hugged and givn handshakes. let's are member defects, 17 of the 20 that were charged were charged with assaulting police into six of them already pled guilty if they were being called in some cases heroes and hostages by folks in the majority. in fact this right here is a reminder of the folks that are in the dc jail that have been called heroes that have assaulted police and have done nothing but committed insurrection and treason against the country so when we talk about supporting law enforcement, we talk about ensuring that we support police officers. it's very important that we support the capital police and

not the 20 people that are being held and being coddled, supported and uplifted by some members of the congress which i think is shameful and hypocritical as well. to conclude i want to submit s this profile in an article that outlined exactly who these hostages as called by some of the majority actually are. mr. chairman? >> the gentleman from mississippi for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman. it's an honor to be here this week especially serving in the house acknowledging the hard work. yesterday i was proud of the house unanimously passed the resolution which expresses congressional support for local law enforcement and condemns the

call. this is particularly important it relates to the conversation today as the biden administration refused to enforce laws on the border that would make law enforcement officer jobs easier. it's great to see all of you here today. the testimony about silence when you are seeking answers about the reselling of refugees in your community is disturbing. i would expect the dhs to fully cooperate with local law enforcement. clearly that isn't happening. i'm sure you brought your concerns regarding the dhs. tell us what your response was. >> the first response was we

understand your concerns. we will get back to you and work this out. the two weeks later, still nothing had been done and it was clear that they only way that we were going to solve the issue was getting the community notified. i called a stakeholders meeting myself and ended up having close to 700 that showed up. we went around the room and everybody from faith-based leaders to hospital members to fire and rescue too many around the beltway were able to put together a plan and then have a subsequent meeting. in other words, everything that was handled was done at the local level with very little assistance. until we have that community panel where they all came in and were able to after we had already organized where we

needed to go to then relay what was going to happen and how we were going to handle it. because we did that at the local level we didn't have any issues or concerns. has anything improved since you had that meeting? >> the process went well. we do not have contact with other members of the dhs. >> as long as i'm here i will continue to work to find ways to instruct dhs to cooperate with local officers. we know the importance off information sharing. also testified that even though the county isn't a border county, it's the same issues as the border counties. can you tell us how this has affected your county and even if you have knowledge about others in your area? >> i would say the most critical

part of that is the fentanyl that is coming in and isolate recent stats i think 115 million that were seized since 2023. up 70 million from the year before. fentanyl deaths are impacting everybody throughout the country. when i testify before the soap committee a few weeks ago i talked about o the overdoses we had within about a three week period, so we are seeing issues of concern and the fentanyl use by other people. it's concerning me that it's not going down to the teenage level where we saw between 25 to 35-years-old and now it is 25 now it's 15 to 20, and it really does concern me that the age has dropped and i were to say that is the biggest impact we are seeing from the constant influx

of drugs permeating throughout the united states. >> can you walk us through some of the challenges going on with local law enforcement as a part of this border mess that we have and does this hurt the ability toru recruit? >> i think we've done pretty good because we answer to the citizens that we serve. there's a lot of people like that and being an elected official rather than appointed, so we are in a position where we answer directly to them and aren't taking our direction necessarily from peoplee that have other agendas that might want to try to impose that upon us. the ability has been pretty good. we have about a 6% attrition rate. we are doing pretty good in the scope of things in comparison to

other areas. i don't have any personal complaints, but i do know that is a problem that is impacting our law enforcement agencies in the>> area. >> i yield back. thank you for being here today. >> the gentleman yields. the gentleman from illinois. thank you for the reminder. so ordered. >> i just want to make sure it is in the record. >> so ordered. you are welcome to introduce your guest if you would like. >> thank you, chairman. my mother who often times many of you have heard of was here for about an hour and had to leave but we are grateful she was here. as you know she brought me here. she was pregnant when she crossed the border and her daughter today as a member of congress, so i wanted to make sure. the chairman, i want to thank you and of the ranking member and the witnesses that are here today for being here.

i heard one of my colleagues say the number one job is to put the bad people away not just the bad guys, guys, girls, it could be anyone.. and to protect and make the community safe. i agree with that and after i had heard so many testimonies, it is clear to me that we do not all agree we must strategically invest in community safety. i believe it is better than policing because it requires long-term preventive solutions it also works on trained professionals that are able to address the cause of violence. for years now law enforcement has increasingly becomein the first responder and a primary way that we could address the systemic problems. for example, increased stability resulting in unprecedented numbers with resettlement report as the chairenti the quote

in london county. so issues that the deputy commissioner mayho have noticeds a priority in tennessee. the overburdened with a crisis they areip not equipped to confront which makes them into the communities less safe. ie believe as we are talking about where we are in this precise moment, i think we can restore balance of public safety ecosystems by investing in initiatives through the response to thehe crisis that they were trained to confront. the mental health crisis. president grant, i appreciate you noting how the public health and safety required comprehensive nonjudgmental pragmatic evidence-based approach that includes violence preventionsk measures. i want to ask you how does increasing the role of community members, healthcare providers and other trained professionals in public safety response effect police departments?

>> thank you so much. public safety is the responsibility of all involved in a so when we are, and i agree it's typically to first responders and over burdens the profession, butt increasing and allowing the community to play a significant part incorporating other professions and what we do as stated in this base of mental health i think will help us tremendously. >> i represent one of the greatest cities inin the world d it's beenki working to redesigne the amount ofvi service work delegated to the police department to the community partners into trained professionals. the chicago police department

reported that in 2019 the officers had to respond to over 40,000 calls with a mentalpo health component. it generated deep frustration among officers that feel they are required to respond to problems for which they are not trained and that mental health systems should be managing those instead. to address this, they started a sptreatment that has counselors responding to 911 mental health calls instead off having to call the police and one organization using this model has reported that they have had, they've not needed police presence for 94% of the calls. that means the officers that would have had to respond could actually address the issue of crime, of violence. and because of the intervention program, my own district has seen a 50% reduction in shootings and homicides. as we think-- about that and our officers, one of the things i

want us to think about is how do we make sure you have the resources you need and partners you needed to do this work and you are able to put the bad guys and the bad women behind bars while protecting our communities? that's why i want to make sure wewe continue so we do what we l care about. reduce crimee and have communities safe thank you all for being here today. i want to start with you about recruitment and retention. in your testimony there's 700 officers short or staffing should be and one of the reasons you attribute the shortage is by $150 million. as you mentioned the political posturing has led to countless

police department's across the united states which is increased crime and the public safety and continues to be one of america's fastest-growing cities as this continues what do you foresee will be some of the impacts of the rising crime and economic development foror city residents in austin? >> i think we are already seeing it. i've had a number of discussions with business owners that are involved in recruiting new businesses to come to austin and public safety is one of the biggest issues and people have opted not to come to allston because of what we have seen in particular with crime and as it relates to be a lot of homeless issues and various other things but in particular enforcement in the public safety is the number one factor that businesses take into account and we are now starting to see people choose not to come to austin because of the environment created. >> these are pretty sizable

companies. >> they are businesses of all size but also significant companies as well. >> what is the impact had on all of this morale? >> the recruiting and retention part is pretty quantifiable because we have seen every year since this started in particular back in 2018 we lost more officers than we've been able to recruit, so it has a very definitive impact on that. as far as morale, it takes a heavy toll on officers to try to maintain the level of service the community expects and deserves while at the same time doing it with ever diminishing resources, so that is a lot for officers to t try to carry as ty try to keep the city safe. >> absolutely. and to double down on that. you are losing officers but also in your testimony, you talked about how texas state troopers

have been resigned from the southern border which also hurts. what impact has that had on public safety and alston? >> when they were assigned, they had a pretty notable impact. increased call volumes into criminal activity being able to suppress that activity with state troopers was very beneficial and in particular as wer dealt with in recent years streeto takeovers into curbing that w issue. and last we saw spikes. the study was done as well as it related specifically to traffic fatalities where there was a notable increase as we dealt with a decreased level of political activity and traffic enforcement we saw all traffic fatalities that occur as the result. >> we answered my next question.

it has had a heavy impact on the ability of the ballston police to protect the public because -- i appreciate you being here. the deputy commissioner, i want to ask a question about the coordination and collaboration and sharing information with law enforcement plays a crucial role in mitigating threats is your experience been working? >> at the forefront is the tennessee fusion center and one of the other witnesses mentioned there are 80 fusion centers

around the nation and in the territories.nt there's one fusion center and we have state and local and federal partners participate there and also tennessee office of homeland security analysts in the intelligence units of police departments around the state we found that's a good way to be present and learn for example we have someone of the crime center to give af good idea of what is going on better than we can ascertain from sitting in nashville. and then the other important thing i would say is it has to do with personal relationships and investing in those before something bad happens. on theen christmas day bombing i got a phone call a bomb went off in downtown nashville and blew up most of second avenue. when i responded downtown, everyone was there.

federal partners, all the local and state law enforcement agencies and i knew personally the leader of every one of those agencies that we had met before and discussed responses and the only one i hadn't met was in charge of etf because he had only been on the job for two weeks so those are the ways we cooperate and we doou it daily. >> the gentleman from new jersey. >> i'd like to thank the witnesses for being here this morning and all of the work you do to keep theco communities sa. this weekend and this committee i want to focus on the bipartisan things we've been able tome achieve and thanks to theer cyber subcommittee. if you touched on the importance of collaboration and responding

to cyber related incidents. how does tennessee homeland ensure that state and local agencies have the resources and expertise to respond to cyber related incidents? >> thank you for the question. as many know we are in a cyber conflict right there with us actors. there are attacks every day. we partner with the federal government and we are very appreciative of the federal cybersecurity grant. tennessee has set upp a state cybersecurity council where we are making decisions the office of homeland has a seat at the table leaned when we are making your decisions on where to put that g money, one of the innovative things we are doing

is partnering with technologies trade schools so we sponsor training so the students get aey chance to learn with us. it's going to take a nationwide effort every day to be successful. >> i wouldat love to hear more about that program because weab talk about building the pipeline and we are going to need them at every level of government so i appreciate the collaborationab you've done. thank you for your testimony this morning. given the prevalence in the mental health how can agencies better collaborate with community-based organizations for appropriate care and support for individuals in crisis? >> absolutely. i think what we have to do is consider more in-depth conversations on how we can work

more collaboratively together. one of the things that have become a subset of a mental hospital and so we have to address that because that has an impact on how w we are respondig to crimes throughout the community so having the ability to come together and come up with a more in-depth way to respond would be beneficial. >> it would also be helpful to continue your function by shifting some of those responsibilities away to community-based organizations are people that are trained the mentalls in healthth space. would you agree with that? >> i think in many instances officers are ill-equipped for what we are encountering on the streets and when it becomes a bad situation it becomes even worse. >> if you see best practices let us know so we can work on them

on a federal level. i also want to touch on a different issue. you have a great deal of experience to get the federal resources for securing major public events like the 2018 and 2019 super bowl. you led to the command is that correct? ii want to talk about your experience with of the 2018 college playoff that received the second highest special rating from dhs. the rating brought inter- interagencysupport to atlanta td the team to ensure the safety of everyone at the championship gameme including the president. the dhs program has never been authorized by congress but my colleagues have a bipartisan bill that would authorize the program, streamline the rating process and make the program more robust. it's obvious to me to help the territorial law enforcement keep

these public gatherings safesa r everyone. in the time we have remaining, but in your opinion can congress dose to support law enforcementn these efforts? >> to improvein upon this, havig the collaboration of all of our partners state and local in today coming together to address any large-scale event is very beneficial to the community. i had a privilege of bleeding and having a strong relationship withed our federal partners was very beneficial to ensure that both. >> thank you and i yield back. >> the gentleman yields and yelled for five minutes of questioning.g. >> good afternoon everyone thank you for being here and for your service to law enforcement and to the country.

you mentioned that even though you are not a border city, the impact of the cities and counties throughout the country and i think that a we could agre we've witnessed every state become a border state university became a border city. the mayor of new york actually said the migrant situation would destroy new york city, so i want to ask what impact has the crisis had specifically on your officers?? >> a few specific examples is because of the staff and crisis we were relying upon state troopers to come in and help us to support our efforts to tamp down violent crime with results at what's going on at the border they were away from helping us so that took away additional resources we had to try to help. we also deal with it on a fairly

regular basis, whether it's as a victim or as a suspect difficulties in identifying people, we have people come and will we get handed is a passport card and a voting card that tells nothing about where they are living so officers can encounter difficultiesin to identify people where they are and like i said that can be either as a victim or suspects. we have people that are engaged in both. >> one of the biggest issues that we as law enforcement have is recruitment and retention. we clearly understand the police rhetoric and inability for many elected officials and government agencies across the country to support and give the resources they need has created issues but

wouldwh specifically have you sn with your officers with regards to the migrant situation and its effect on morale and i know there's legislation on the floor this week with regards to mental health. what have you seen happen to the morale of your men and women with regards to the issues that your department is facing? >> when they don't feel valued or appreciated, it is unlikely they will encourage anyone else to undergo the same mental stress so that perpetuates the issue of having difficulty keeping people in the profession. that's one of the most significant impacts as the stress level and the tools that it takes is it displays anyone else from coming in so that

makes it difficult. >> i think that we are seeing fire departments, police departments, the careers, fathers, grandfathers, they are telling their children not to join the ranks i think we have a serious issue. also mentioned inou your testimy you talked about the fact you don't have a sufficient number of officers. your department was previously defunded by $150 million, cut 150 positions. obviously it's not. alone in places across new york. there are members of the city council who would love nothing more than to defend the nypd.

what can we do better to help departments, and i know the answer but what can we do to help agencies one of the big onesnd like the nypd and lapd to the small ones and small towns what can we do to help make sure youes have not only the resourcs that you need to put the officers that want to join the ranks? >> resource is the big bang making sure they know the work they do is valued, the work they do has meaning to it and that another member mentioned officers are too interested in politics. we want to do our job and be able to do that without being used as political ponds.

the support is the biggest thing as well as addressing things we may not have an issue if the funding and responsibilities were taken with it into some of the mental health issues were taken on by other agencies and not given to us it may not be as big of an issue. >> i appreciate all of you and value and appreciate you and hope you stay safe. >> the gentleman yields and i recognize the gentleman from new york. >> thank you mr. chairman. let me start by welcoming my colleagues. he's done a fantastic job in new yorknd state and i know he willo a fantastic job here in congress and he will make a lot of jobs because of the seriousness with whichha he takes his job. we appreciate the time you've taken to educate us and i know you've listened to a lot of us back and forth and people need y

try to score political points on both sides of this we've got to start working together to solve the problems we face and also support law enforcement. i was the mayor of a small city in glen cove and at the county asexecutive where i oversaw the 11th largest police force where we reduced the crime rate to the lowest of any over 500,000 people. i know the challenges because of all of the attacks. it's not fair or right there are people trying to do their jobs and one of the statements that's ever been created in the country that is misused so often is the defined the police idea. if anything i think most agree we need to figure out how to get more money and i think that if they are extremists onh both sides, some people that want to

defund the police and others want to defend the fbi, cut the cops program. we need to get more money for law enforcement and i think people on both sides of the aisle believeie in that. do we need to defend the police, yes, is mental health a problem, 75% of the people and drug have a drug, mental health problem. 75% of the drug and alcohol or mental health problem and those are problems we need to address earlier in life before everything blows up into a crisis. our society wouldn't exist without the good work of law enforcement so i'm thinking you and everybody you represent. what can we do in the government

bonds size isn't going to fit all. you've got places where they want to carry ar 15's into body armor and a as well. one of the great things that happened was the cops program they wanted to put 100,000 more cops on the street. would you support the idea of funding for grants to hire more officers were by equipment or do whatever you think is right to provide morene money for law enforcement? i will ask you quickly would you like to see more money for law enforcement? >> absolutely. >> everybody agrees we need more money for law enforcement. i'm of the things in a addition

to funding is to address walls that would exist in some communities. it sounds like the idea of a police officer or family member or somebody being able to go before an official like ais jude and say this person should really not have a gun. we need to take this gun away from that person. to go through a process procedure but have professionals testify and take guns away from people that shouldn't really have them. >> i don't use the term red flag walls because it gets people all of said but extreme risk protection orders and ability to take a weapon with due process available someone that is unstable or has capability intent the governor of tennessee

proposed something like that. it didn't go, i would answer yes if i t were to. >> and they are again? >> extreme risk protection orders. >> you don't havebu those in texas. do you think we should have that as a nationwide basis? >> there is value. in texas one of the situations that was mentioned is if we place someone on the commitment we have the ability to seize the firearm but it's temporary and only lasts for about a week depending upon the variety of circumstances the ability to make sure individuals we know are at risk don't have weapons access. >> it would be great. i just want to try to get some support from the different witnesses today. appreciate the time and yield back. >> i recognize mr. higgins.

the subcommittee for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman. i think the panelists for being here today, honored and humbled to be a brother on the long line long ago. i served as a military police officer and later in life as a civilian officer in my home state of louisiana. i'm a cop as i sit in front of you today. this is a week this bizarre realm of washington, d.c. where there is a cacophony of support across the political spectrum's

that you will hear political and a agendaquestions like how k panelists to supporting the red flag wall, where in a limited time available you just don't have the time or the venue here to go into it as to why we oppose such things and in existence, he's left the room but in the state of louisiana we have them tase guns out of houses all the time under the protective order and investigation of an ongoing criminal allegation and the property receipt is turned over to the spells.

sometimes after questioning a spouse you remove firearms from cta residence. these predictions already exist. the problem is when you force them from the federal government into the sovereign states saying municipalities. this is wherere you have major issues and infringement of second amendment rights. so, moving on, you're from austin texas, correct? >> yes sir. >> i would like you to speak if you don't mind regarding the impact of the board of the crisis. you are a couple hundred miles from the border and we know of course that the invasion of the southern border and the disintegration of the sovereignty has affected the entire country but would you speak to the impact the border

crisis has had in your city, your police department? >> it's had an impact not just from the resource. the population continues to grow for a variety of circumstances, but we have relied upon the states to help us and had to be diverted to the southern border. we also have issues when it comes to identifying individuals following up on people report or commit crimes. >> that response to complaints, 911 calls, response times? >> they continue to go up. we've struggled a couple years now. >> so it's accustomed to police assistance and things like domestic disturbances, break-ins, burglaries et cetera,

suspicious people on their property. are they having to wait because your officers and deputies in the communities are doing other stuff? >> either wait or don't get a response at all. >> unfortunately this is happening across the country. in my remaining 30 seconds would you touch on the impact of the cartel pipelines. as i mentioned before the biggest problem that we have seen is the fentanyl problem that's impacting us in our community at younger ages and i think that is the biggest aspect represented so we are starting

to see that will. it's more significant. the gentleman from new york for five minutes of questioning. >> thank you very much. first of all, chairman grain and ranking member thompson, thank you for holding this hearing today. i'd like to recognize the surface. leaving behind an incredible legacy for over a decade who served and fought for his constituents in newark new

jersey. yesterday may 14th was the second anniversary of the supermarket shooting in buffalo new york, my hometown. an attack that struck the heart of the city into the nation. racist white supremacist gunmen came to buffalo. attacking citizens that simply were going to the market on a beautifulno sunday afternoon taking ten beautiful souls. one of the victims retired

buffalo security guard. when the shooter came in, the lieutenant didn't hesitate and returned fire, hitting his target. but because of the enhanced body army, the shooter was unharmed and murdered the lieutenant. to escape saving lives at the expense of his own he serves as a testament to the crisis the police officers make for their communities and we are grateful for his historic actions. i recognize the sacrifice

families make on a daily basis when their loved ones go off and put themselves in harm's way. i want to talk about enhanced body armor and i have questions for the panelists and thank you for your testimony today and your lifelongpr commitment to protecting the streets across this country. as i described the situation that played out over just two years ago, we know that lieutenant died as a hero and invited everything police officers stand for he used his training to help others. because of that body armor, he was unable to stop the perpetrator in that moment. i would like to ask each of you to believe that it should be available for citizens.

thank you for the question, congressman. it's something i haven't consideredh before. also i would hesitate to say people can't have it but i don't have an answer. >> that's an interesting question and i don't know if i answer as well though it althoh it would certainly be nice to know and have the information available in the event. we, are in a similar boat i imagine where it's not q a

question to impose. we are here to protect people's rights and ability to purchase what is legal for them to do so butty obviously concerns when it heeds the ability to do the law so there has to be a balance. >> i would agree a conversation needs to be held. when people can use that equipment and act. the gentleman from texas. >> thank you mr. chairman and as well as the law enforcement subcommittee. i want to say thank you to all those who served and all of you in your respective jobs as part

of law enforcement. i think one of the reasons we are having this hearing is to express our appreciation to make sure even in some communities where the law enforcement may not feel ass appreciated, and i will talk to you about that specifically in austin texas what we want to do today is to say thank you to our law enforcement personnel and the families that support them and allow them to put that uniform on every single day to protect and serve, and i know that when i spoke to our sheriff's department and at the department, those that are troopers just on monday that is vital to them is thank you for the service.

the negative aspects unfolding for theas past three and a half years this committee has held multiple hearings. what i would like to ask, tell us about the impact of the criminal organizations and cartel activities, how is that impacted austin texas. when you talk about human trafficking they are very resource intensive investigations. unfortunately those are resources that we lack at the moment that impedes the ability to fully investigate and leads to a likelihood we are not going toes be able to investigate everything so my concern over the lives as you deal with more complex crimes and influx of

individuals engaged in criminal activity and very serious when you talk about trafficking individuals that we don't have the resources to appropriately interdict and estop that type of activity. >> and there was a lack of political will as well specifically inside austin. has that been reversed into do you feel supported as part as the prosecution goes of crimes that you are referencing? >> we have yet to see that reversed. >> a lot of the officers have come where i live because they do feel supported. i noticed in your testimony you referenced your time as an agent. when it comes to fentanyl and other drugs coming across the southern border, how has that impacted you, the job you're in right now and the community you serve and then maybe give us an idea what this looks like the past couple of years in your time in service and how bad is it right now?

>> i served all over the country and miami back in the 1980s and for what i saw the worst of the problem back then as a special agent. nit's far worse now because the last three years now over 300,000 from overdoses comes with a tragedy associated in a different way it's not organizations for product share, it'spl just people buying becaue you're being fed this fentanyl. i can tell you that in loudoun county we are very proactive working with of the schools and esdoing everything that we can d i mentioned earlier that he had a decrease in the ages of people that are using overdoses and we are going down to the teenage levels starting with heroin and fentanyl and now it's almost pure fentanyl now. i look at the problem nationally

and when i give my presentations i say if you were developed the stadium every single one of the seats probably still wouldn't have the amount of people that died of overdoses. it's critical that we address the issue and we've got to be proactive in the education. nor can and all these other athings but also to hold people accountable and stop whatever we can at the border. >> do you think there's aaccountability at the border right now? >> there is a porous border so i don't think we have the accountability we need. >> thank you for being here and i will reiterate thank you to all that served, sacrificing so much andnd it is my sincere hope that we will actually get back to accountability and with that, i yield.

thank you for coming to the committee and for the job that you do. i will begin by after being exposed to fentanyl during an arrest, corporal christopher jackson spenton his life in service to the nation and to the community of northwest georgia. he committed to 12 years of service to the army followed by many years of law enforcement in walker county. in november, 2020 he was conducted an arrest when he was exposed to fentanyl into tragically resulted in his passing away fromy a heart attak associated with of the exposure. this week we honor him along with many other brave men and women who've died in the line of duty serving oure community. the commitment to their jobs should always be remembered. it's the number one killer of americans between the ages of 18

and 45 it killed approximately 300 americans each day, every day. in counties throughout the district, fentanyl deaths increased by over 350%. this is something i knew you deal with far too often. according to the georgia narcotics association, approximately seven out of ten pills laced with fentanyl coming across the southern border. i'd like to ask each of you is this something you are having to deal with as well? >> the short answer is yes. the problem is relevant in tennessee along with the human trafficking element that is a part of that also. >> absolutely is.

>> [inaudible] >> fentanyl is an issue that law with.ement is dealing >> also, for many years in the past pleased to hear young men and women say they wanted to be a police officerhe when they grw up but unfortunately we are not hearing that as much anymore. agencies experienced a wave of retirements and departures and are struggling to recruit the next generation of officers in the years following the blm and nt the riot where weasel police attack night after night continuously all summer. over 93 police cars were burned and over $2 million in damaging's were all over america. the right of retirement rose 45% with the previous year on nearly 200 law enforcement agencies and that the team same time the hiring slid by 5%.

the waves had come as they pledged to enact reforms such as ending the policies that give officers immunity. studies show there's been a 44% dincrease. in atlanta the department has been down 400 to 500 the past three years. one who left atlanta said basically we are one bullet away from death and one mistake away from indictment so why roll the dice with my future when i can go do something else. these are the saddest statements i think we can hear coming from police officers feeling that they are forced into retirement because no one is supporting them on i the job. many cited the defend movement acand support from a elected

officials. now with open border policies is opened to tens of millions from over 160 countries all over the world and a steady flow of human and drug trafficking. police in america are on the front lines facing dangers in every community in america. i would like to begin ask each of you can you tell us is it difficult to hire new recruits to be police officers? >> the difficulties you are describing for law enforcement agencies across the state. >> i can't speak for. a lot of it has to do with the

fact i and e on the elected official to answer directly to the people even though my man elected official, we've run in a political shop and we support the constitution and that's what we do. yes we are dealing with those issues as a matter of fact we tend to lose officers from our department. that will go to a smaller department because it has a more positive environment. >> as it relates to improvements in having discussions with others about the country what we are seeing are those numbers begin to stabilize.

>> i think supporting our police officers as the most important thing we can do especially as elected officials. thank you and i yield back. >> as we honor of the thin blue line of police officers in the country and to try to figure out the best way to say thank you so the world can understand it. in the military, mr. crane, the chairman. to take that armor off and to be able to relax and spend time with their families and repatriateri and cooldown.

they wear the shield, because their loved ones goodbye and wake up that morning with their badge and weapon system and deploy out the front door, every single day. you year the statistics in the military of the cognitive and physical struggle and what that does multiple deployments and then you're expected to come back andhe there is a healing process. there is no offramp. to every conflict in your area you know what most don't realize is every single person, 330 million have your phone number. my 7-year-old son. what happened is the narrator

has changed and it'suy somehow become the bad guys and girls and it breaks my heart to say that. i don't believe it but it resonates withf the media and hw did this happen? everybody has a bad actor or a bad day. people do stupid things. do you blame the entire establishment for a bad day at the office? i think we need to take a step back if there is a thin blue line it's something that's very real. it's those men and women no matter the circumstances or what you see, no matter what you hear or what you feel maybe if you could take your ears and hard and now you see what i see and hear what i hearw and feel whati

feel and i'm coming you may help me -- hate me every single second. law enforcement should be the most revered in the nation because you're there to save our lives and do the things most people don't want to do. you go running in that direction and that's the best way i can say thank you i hope it resonates. i don't have any questions. it will get worse before it gets betters and the only thing i hae to ask you is don't leave, don't walk away from us. the funding goes up and down and people do the things thatng they do but every time you go home and see your loved ones and say this is the worst day of my life but i'm going to get up and do it again because if you don't, i don't even know where to go with

that. >> the gentleman yields. i now recognize myself for five minutes. we want to thank you all for being here, sincere gratitude for what you do and believe in the rule of law the services that are provided. we honor your courage and those that have lost their lives doing what i can't imagine. it's one thing to leave your family for extended periods of time butk another when you walk out the door knowing thecircumstances would allow yoo reenter that dynamic. recognizing law enforcement and police duringil police week we acknowledged these challenges and our nation is facing a

crisisis because of a culture of lawlessness that has been th belief system that's taken hold and it's a rebellious type of atmosphere the highest leaders of the country are bolstering because we are not in solidarity standing up for respect of authority and rule of law. we see this with the defined the police movement wreaking havoc. as i listened this morning you are talking about the recruitment,pm lack of ability o encourage for the loss of marnell knowing people from the highest positions of authority have your back. specifically what i hear from people is the flow of drugs that have come into the country heightened because of what's happened at the southern border and sadly we had a petition

under. we exported more marijuana than any other state because of this ballot initiative that came in and of the cartel seizing upon that is sending drugs into the state so let me do this. for sheriff chapman and president bullock, how has this problem of drugs flowing in affect did you and what you're seeing? >> we had to address the community directly with regards to the overdoses thatt we saw. we had nine overdoses in a period of about three weeks of students that were affiliated or students after school three of

which required narcan. we find a reluctance to get that information out. what that did is it prompted the government to put an executive order and require a notification of two parents of that school in the given somebody overdoses that was then later put forth as legislation and it really didn't pass the way that it should have with a 24 hour notification. we are seeing younger people do this and we want to make sure we have the community and that is my biggest concern the proliferation of it, the availability of it and the impact of this having on our

youth. >> you talked about the marnell issue. you a had a loss of officers morethan the ability to recruitm and so would you speak to how defund the police movement has impacted the morale and then talk about the dollar loss that you've also seen that's

out by prosecutors as a people point it refinish. no accountability or criminal activity and so there's a perpetuation of crime that's going on and is leading to new type of intervention and that ties in directly with fentanyl overdoses. it ties in with officers being exposed to delta substances and that all has a dramatic effect on our offices fields are able to do the job. almost to the comment of well, what's the point? >> thank you so very much. i think when you sit in a chair you could yield more time but i would not do that to my call for next thank you for asking this question is. with that i will yield the german from arizona, eli crane, his five-minute. >> thank you, mr. chairman.

thank you, gentlemen for coming today. thank you for your service. i also want to say thank you to the men and women you have represented a period i want to take a minute to honor the courage and resilience of my constituent, sergeant preston brockton. the sergeant a former marine veteran and a member of a police force and yavapai county was shot and a line of duty a little over two years ago. he is a true hero. in the face of danger, sergeant brockton self is a place himself in harm's way to protect his community. his unwavering commitment to duty was evident on that fateful day in 2020 when he was shot narrowly escaping a potentially fatal wound. following months the with searches and physical therapy, he inspired many on who to recovery but his road has not been easy and he continues to navigate what comes next for him and his family.

he was recently fired by the yavapai apache nation police department. despite facing this adversity he remained steadfast in his recovery, demonstrating remarkable strength and determination. i bring him up today because i don't want his story to be forgotten. folks like preston who sacrificed for our safety need to know that we stand with them, especially when things get messy. i met all of his recovery and resilience, and it's should serve as a shining example to us all. his legacy of courage and boldness will forever be remembered with on and gratitude. -- honor and gratitude. we talked about this on this panel, gentlemen, about red flags laws and even whether or not the citizens of this country should be allowed to have body armor. so i got a question for you, and i apologize, but do you guys

believe that the con apologize, do you believe that the rights should be dismissed from its increases operational efficiency and safety protections for law enforcement? i will start with you. >> i do not. >> mr. chapman. >> i'm sorry can you repeat the question? >> do you believe that the constitutional rights should be dismissed when it increases the operational efficiency and safety protections of law enforcement? >> i'm sworn to uphold the constitution. >> i would echo the same thing we take>> an oath to uphold the constitution. >> i agree we have a responsibility to the constitution. >> the reason i bring that up is because i constantly hearm arguments usually coming from the other side and often they are well intended it is a

constant push and pull we deal with the fear whether we are talking about firearms, body armor for fisa and whether or not that whole system should be reformed. as subject matter experts and people leaned on further advice when it comes to protecting american citizens that we hold that constitutional right paramount even though at times it makes it harder for you to do your job and i want to yield back. >> thank you mr. chairman. >> the gentleman yields and i recognize ranking member thompson for closing remarks. >> thank you very much. and let me thank the witnesses for your expert testimony. i think what you do every day

reflects very clearly what you share with us. i can say that for the democrats on the committee we've never voted against law enforcement. the nonprofit program legislation we promote. we started with synagogues but made it available to mosques and we have a fundamental belief that in america everybody got to be safe. in our mind you should be safe. the other thing is i'm a

volunteer fireman and i used to show up on seems in mutual aid and of the equipment that we had didn't match the equipment we were backing up. we've said first responders have to have the ability to communicate so if the police fire whomever they should be talking to each other. the public expects and assume that's what's happening. we said to law enforcement if you want in federal money, you're going to have to file the

interoperability problem so that's helped. the police in new york had difficultyth communicating. we've invested a lot. wonderful program. we've used it in my district and it continues to work. it's clear working with state and locals and now an integral part of how we protect and serve the general public and if you want a real fight you talk about doing away with it. the last thing i can't stress training. training is absolutely essential. we need to share facilities in the training. i encourage you to do that.

we have to do a better job of recruiting everyone into law enforcement. it can't just be a particular group. the law enforcement they will protect americans and uphold the constitution and i've been told it's colorblind it's the application of the law that creates the problem and if we do it in that respect, i think we all will be better because of it. so we thank you all for your testimony and my comments were twofold. i was in the capital january 6th and couldn't get out for almost four hours because of what was happening. the only way most of us survived was because of law enforcement

presence protecting those that were just trying to certify an election but i have the also responsibility of cheering the january 6 elect committee. i tried to present a picture of exactly what happened, didn't take sides but also with law enforcement it's just the facts and we tried to present the facts and ultimately be presented a report. i take issue that people that break the law, i don't care who they are, they are crooks and felons and if they are f and adjudicated, they go to jail plan . let me thank the witnesses for your expert presentation and if we have any questions we will submit them for your response.

>> let me say thank you on behalf of the committee for your time and thank you again for what you represent. the rule of law respect for authority even on a microcosm of dynamics it produces 20 times more likely in incarceration somebody's going to do something that would lead to incarceration. 70% of those that are addicted to drugs come from a fatherless home so we have a cultural shift

that hasas to happen in this country from the lowest level of us teaching within our family dynamics about respect of authority and understanding and authority, doing what authority should come to love people, showingy, responsibility and the children then returned with the respect to authorities. we have a cultural dynamic that has to change and i am convinced those that have a platform that begins with family first. i think you all deal with that day after day and for those who are having to deal with the aftereffects of a culture that is missing the mark on this, thank you for what you do and your brother and sister in arms that have paid the ultimate sacrifice. with that, the members have additional questions for the witnesses we would ask the witnesses respond to these in writing pursuant to the committee rule the hearing record will be open for ten days andd with that without objectio,

the committee stands adjourned. [inaudible conversations]