U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) partnered this week with Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) to introduce the Thin Blue Line Act, which enforces harsher penalties on individuals targeting police officers and first responders.
The senators’ introduction of this legislation comes in response to the recent surge of attacks on police officers, which have occurred all over the country. In August, an Alabama cop was pistol-whipped with his own gun. Instead of lending a helping hand, a crowd of bystanders posted photos on Facebook and Twitter that included some less than police-friendly captions. Later, the officer said he didn’t try to shoot his attacker because he didn’t want the media to label him as a racist.