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H.R. 218 Forges Ahead, Still Including Retired Officers Eugene Assencao has had an aversion to bullies his entire life. He chose a career in law enforcement just for that reason. First, he worked as an undercover narcotics cop in New York’s housing projects during the 1970s, and then in the 1980s he was a plainclothes member of the street crimes unit. Now at 59, he’s been retired 10 years. But his crime-fighting days were far from over. This past summer, this retired NYPD sergeant was successful in thwarting an armed robbery at a Brooklyn 7-Eleven, and undoubtedly saved the lives of three terrified store clerks. Now employed by an armored car company, Assencao and a coworker were out late one night when they noticed a man loitering in the darkness outside the convenience store. A trained observer, Assencao knew something just wasn’t right. Then the two security officers noticed two men inside the store roughing up three clerks. One perpetrator had a gun. Assencao knew he couldn’t sit idly by. Instructing his partner to call 911, Assencao abruptly jumped from the car, which seemed to scare off the robbers’ lookout man. Drawing his revolver, the retired sergeant burst into the store ordering the robbers to freeze. Rejecting the challenge, the gunman pointed his gun at Assencao. In imminent danger, the retired officer fired his revolver. As a bullet penetrated the gunman’s torso, he fell to the floor and released his gun. The other robber dropped to the floor in compliance (officers later discovered he was also armed). The 18- and 21-year-old felons were then taken into custody. Saving the three store clerks from unthinkable injury and helping to send two dangerous criminals to jail where they belong, Assencao is proclaimed as a hero. He says no retired cop should stand by and watch someone be victimized. “We’re like the silent auxiliary,” he said of the city’s retired officers. Fortunately, NYPD is praising Assencao, saying he did the right thing that night. So did New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who said:
Unfortunately, some congressmen don’t agree. H.R. 218, LEAA’s flagship legislation (also known as the “Community Protection Act”) which would allow qualified active and retired officers the Right-To-Carry from state to state without facing prosecution, was recently voted out of the House Subcommittee on Crime but not without some discussion about removing the language that extends this right to retired officers. Rep. Steven Rothman (D-N.J.) talked of eviscerating retirees from H.R. 218, and then other proposals were discussed about setting an age limit beyond which retired officers would not be allowed to carry. Luckily, Rep. Charles Canady (R-Fla.) and Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark) were there to stave off these ludicrous ideas, and finally the bill was voted on and passed out of the Subcommittee. The incident involving the retired Brooklyn sergeant clearly shows how important it is to extend H.R. 218 to retirees. (You can believe that LEAA will be sending a copy of the newspaper article about Sgt. Eugene Assencao’s life-saving heroics at the 7-Eleven to Congressman Rothman.) Against All Odds The chief in Altamonte Springs, Fla., did just that, saying that he thinks other cops carrying firearms off-duty or while travelling is a danger to public safety. So, chief, what you’re saying is that you don’t trust the ability of trained cops to handle themselves with a firearm unless they are in uniform and on-duty? While we’re uncertain as to how many chiefs contacted members of the House Crime Subcommittee, we were happy to see that the leadership forged ahead and set H.R. 218 for a mark-up and vote. This action came on the heels of our June 18th victory when the “Community Protection Act” garnered 372 “yes” votes as an amendment to the Juvenile Justice Bill. Even though the larger bill failed in the long-run, the Crime Subcommittee recognized the overwhelming support for this life-saving legislation, and quickly placed H.R. 218 on the mark-up calendar. Subsequently, it passed on unanimous voice vote and now goes to the full House Judiciary Committee. How You Can Help The goal, of course, is to get the bill back on the House floor for a vote before October 29 when Congress is scheduled to adjourn. LEAA still needs you to call Congress in an effort to get H.R. 218 back on the House floor this year. Right now, it is wise to focus on the members of the Judiciary Committee to let them know we’re opposed to any amendments or language changes that would weaken the bill. Of course, all retired officers are encouraged to call members of the House Judiciary Committee and tell them you want retired officers left in the bill. Finally, we should also tell them that we want this bill to be put on the “suspension calendar” before Congress adjourns. And don’t forget that the “Community Protection Act” also exists in the Senate as S.727. This is the ideal time to contact your senators to familiarize them with the legislation and encourage their support, because after it passes out of the House of Representatives we have to move it through the Senate. As always, we are continuing to add new law enforcement associations to the list of supporter groups. Most recently, LEAA received endorsement letters from the Golden State Peace Officers Association and the Broadmoor Police Officers Association both in California. We are extremely appreciative to all those who have renewed their letters of support for H.R. 218. Also, be sure to send LEAA any articles or stories you find that can be used to show how important it is to enact H.R. 218 (i.e. off-duty or retired officers using their firearms to protect themselves or others or stories of injuries or deaths because H.R. 218 is not law). We certainly appreciate faithful LEAA Member Harry Tice for being alert enough to notice the article about Sgt. Assencao and being so diligent to send it to us. |
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