www.njcopsmagazine.com
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JANUARY 2015
59
A push for body armor and seatbelt policies
On Dec. 15, NAPO Executive Director Bill Johnson met with fellow law enforcement stakeholders
for a follow-up discussion regarding body armor
and seatbelt wear policies. This meeting stemmed
from a Nov. 20 meeting at which NAPO joined other
law enforcement groups in developing an agreement on the mandatory use of body armor and
seatbelts for all law enforcement agencies.
Each year, traffic accidents and firearms-related incidents are
the leading causes of death among law enforcement officers who
are killed in the line of duty. It is critical that we do all that we can
to keep officers safe. Body armor and seatbelts have been proven
to save lives and help reduce injuries to officers.
The major law enforcement groups support mandatory use of
body armor and seatbelts in all law enforcement agencies. It is
important to note that NAPO worked with fellow stakeholders to
ensure that death benefits would not be withheld as part of sanctions in cases where officers failed to comply with mandatory
armor and vest policies. Rules on penalties would be left to individual agencies to develop and enforce.
President plans to nominate Sally Yates for Deputy
Attorney General
On Dec. 22, President Obama announced that he intends to
nominate Sally Yates, a federal prosecutor for the Northern District
of Georgia, to serve as the next Deputy Attorney General.
Yates has a record of fighting public corruption and has handled
several high-profile cases including the prosecution of the 1996
Atlanta Olympics bomber.
The U.S. Senate must vote to confirm Yates as Deputy Attorney
General, but she will assume the job on an acting basis on Jan. 10
while her nomination is pending. Yates will fill the vacancy left by
outgoing Deputy Attorney General James Cole.
NAPO Executive Director Bill Johnson discussed this nomination with Attorney General Eric Holder before the official
announcement was made. NAPO continues to evaluate this nomination. We will not take a position for or against this nomination
until we have completed our own background investigation.
NAPO will keep our members updated on all new developments.
NAPO named to President’s Task Force
On Dec. 18, President Obama signed an Executive Order to create the Task Force on 21st Century Policing, and announced its
members, which include NAPO. NAPO is the only police rank and
file group in the nation to have a seat on the Commission itself.
Our Treasurer, Sean Smoot, of the Illinois PB&PA, has been
appointed by the president to the Commission.
The fact that NAPO has a seat on the Commission is indicative
of the fact that the Administration and powers in Washington
know who we are, and want to hear our views.
Obama signs $1.1 trillion government spending bill
On Dec. 16, President Obama signed a $1.1 trillion spending bill
that keeps the government operating until next summer.
Many of our members have expressed concerns regarding a
recent call to action from a public sector alliance, which reported
in error that public pension plans would be impacted by the
spending bill. Please note that language in the spending bill pertaining to pensions will not impact or
make changes to public sector pension plans. The
language pertaining to pensions included in the
spending bill will impact some multi-employer private sector plans, but will not impact our members.
NAPO expects legislation impacting public sector
plans to be pursued during the 114th Congress. We plan to continue to work closely with fellow stakeholders to protect public
sector plans.
Congress does not alter transfers of surplus military gear
to law enforcement
Lawmakers did not make major changes to a Defense Department program that allows the transfer of surplus military equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies. The fiscal 2015
defense authorization bill (H.R. 3979), which cleared Congress,
leaves the surplus equipment transfer program intact.
NAPO has discussed our views of the excess property program,
also known as the 1033 Program, with numerous staffers in the
past several months. NAPO continues to stress that the vast majority of equipment provided under the 1033 Program is defensive in
nature. Furthermore, the program enables law enforcement
departments to garner equipment that they would otherwise be
unable to afford. Ending the program would leave law enforcement departments unable to equip their officers with the necessary tools to keep their communities safe. d