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The Honorable Madeleine Dean
U.S. House of Representatives
150 Canon House Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Representative Dean,
I am writing on behalf of the Fraternal Order of Police, Pennsylvania Lodge representing 40,000 active and retired law enforcement officers in Pennsylvania. We are the largest delegation of members in the United States. Recently four police officers from Pennsylvania were viciously ambushed and shot in the line of duty. We are requesting you as a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the 4th Congressional District in Pennsylvania to cosponsor H.R. 743 the, “Protect and Serve Act”.
Philadelphia Police Sergeant Richard C. Mendez and Officer Raul Ortiz were shot ambush style in the fall of 2023 while investigating suspicious activity at Philadelphia International Airport. Sgt. Mendez was shot four times and was killed. Officer Ortiz was wounded but survived the attack.
Officers David Schiazza from Lansdowne and John Meehan from the East Lansdowne police departments each sustained a single gunshot wound from a second-floor shooter responding to a call of a child shot in early February 2024.
Another officer shot in Pennsylvania, Det. Kyle Gilmartin from the Scranton Police Department was shot in the head twice, ambush style in January 2024 while investigating a suspicious car involved in prior reports of shots being fired.
Forty-six (46) out of 378 officers that were shot in 2023 were killed in the line of duty. Of the 378 shot, 115 officers were victims of ambush-style attacks which equates to 44% ambushed in 2023. These types of attacks are still on the rise.
H.R. 743 “The Protect and Serve Act” would make this a federal crime in an effort to deter the growing violence targeting law enforcement officers in deliberate, calculated ambush-style attacks.
The 2024 statistics indicate that there have been eight officers shot in ambush style attacks across the country since the start of the year with three (3) coming from the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement ranks.
I am asking that you cosponsor H.R 743 to address the national problem of ambushes and unprovoked attacks on our law enforcement officers. Our officers are at risk of being targeted while simply observing traffic patterns, writing a report in a parked cruiser, standing on a traffic post, or on rarer occasions off duty. There needs to be a deterrent.
On behalf of the 40,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, Pennsylvania I look forward to you cosponsoring this legislation to help safeguard our members in an already hazardous profession.
Lastly, I look forward to meeting with you during our annual National FOP Day on the hill in Washington DC the week of March 4th.
Respectfully,
Joseph Regan, President
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