2020 Second Extraordinary Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 54
BY SENATORS CARTER, ABRAHAM, ALLAIN, BARROW, BERNARD,
BOUDREAUX, BOUIE, CATHEY, CLOUD, CONNICK, CORTEZ,
FESI, FIELDS, FOIL, HARRIS, HENRY, HENSGENS, HEWITT,
JACKSON, JOHNS, LAMBERT, LUNEAU, MCMATH, MILLIGAN,
FRED MILLS, ROBERT MILLS, MIZELL, MORRIS, PEACOCK,
PETERSON, POPE, PRICE, REESE, SMITH, TALBOT, TARVER,
WARD, WHITE AND WOMACK
A RESOLUTION
To express wholehearted support for law enforcement and police departments and reject any
notion to defund law enforcement or police departments in Louisiana.
WHEREAS, Louisiana's law enforcement officers protect citizens from criminals
who seek to perpetrate violence and harm innocent lives regardless of the political
circumstances of the day; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana's law enforcement community also seeks to assist the
communities they serve through a variety of nontraditional means, including nonarrest
pathways that connect individuals with treatment and recovery programs to overcome
addiction, and juvenile diversion programs to prevent minors from entering the criminal
justice system; and
WHEREAS, supporting law enforcement officers with the equipment, training, and
funding necessary to serve our communities and keep our streets safe has long been a
bipartisan issue; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana's law enforcement officers willingly face dangerous
circumstances and the threat of serious bodily injury or death on a daily basis to ensure the
safety of all Louisiana citizens; and
WHEREAS, the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum reports that as
of December 31, 2019, 1,627 of the nation's law enforcement officers had died in the line
of duty during the past decade, a rate of one law enforcement death every fifty-four hours;
and
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WHEREAS, the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum's 2020 Mid-Year
Law Enforcement Officers Fatalities Report detailed that sixty-five law enforcement officers
have been killed in the line of duty this year, including twenty-seven officers who were
killed in firearms-related incidents; and
WHEREAS, some politicians and interest groups have urged governmental bodies
across the nation to defund law enforcement agencies; and
WHEREAS, defunding or otherwise handcuffing law enforcement officers will make
officers less likely to intervene in dangerous situations and will result in law enforcement
pulling back from the neighborhoods they are entrusted to protect; and
WHEREAS, violent crime increases when law enforcement is forced to withdraw
from neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, efforts to defund police departments will cause irreparable and lasting
damage.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby express wholehearted support for law enforcement and police departments and
reject any notion to defund law enforcement or police departments in Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
hereby offers sincere thanks and appreciation to Louisiana's law enforcement officers and
police departments who protect and serve our communities and recognizes the great sacrifice
our law enforcement officers and police departments make to keep our communities safe.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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