The Chicago Police Department is one of the largest and oldest in the nation. (iStock)
Currently, killing state or local law enforcement officers can lead to a federal penalty only if the killing is committed to influence or retaliate against the officer's official duties and involves interstate commerce or federal jurisdiction. While some laws have been passed in recent years to curb the uptick in police killings, there's no official federal law that killing a police officer in any state is a felony because most cases are prosecuted under state law.
States generally treat the murder of a police officer as an aggravated form of homicide that can carry harsh penalties, including life imprisonment or the death penalty.
"What I'm looking for is uniformity, and I'm looking forward to give the family and loved ones some relief that things are being done properly, and I know for a fact that they're not prosecuted and investigated the same in every state in America. That's not happening," Weitzel said.
Weitzel, who was almost killed in an ambush shooting during his time as a cop, said he's sent letters to his state legislators, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth, and both the Biden and previous Trump administrations, but he only heard back from Trump's DOJ with a list of best practices. Last week, Weitzel sent another letter to Trump urging him to look at the proposal.
Tom Weitzel (Tom Weitzel)
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"President Trump has publicly stated he's a law-and-order president. He has stated he supports law enforcement, many of the law enforcement ideals and legislation," Weitzel said. "So, it's the right time to at least push this, because we have somebody who in the White House says he's willing to work and pass legislation and funding with local law enforcement."
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ex-chicagoland-police-chief-wants-cop-murder-federal-crime-attacks-officers-up-since-2020