I authored the below letter with St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson and Chuck Wexler, director of the Police Executive Research Forum. It appears today as an "As We See It" column in the Kansas City Star.
The Missouri legislature is receiving national attention for
passing a law that would attempt to nullify all federal gun laws within the
state. The legislation was vetoed by
Gov. Jay Nixon, but the legislature may attempt to override that veto.
Most legal
experts agree that the legislation is unconstitutional. The Supremacy Clause of
the U.S. Constitution does not allow state legislatures to nullify federal
laws.
As
police officials we are concerned about this legislation because it would make
it a state crime for our federal partners at the FBI, ATF, and other agencies
to do their job of enforcing federal gun laws in Missouri. The prospect of
Missouri officials trying to arrest federal agents is unimaginable, but that is
what House Bill 436 would provide.
We
find the legislation offensive for the disrespect it shows to federal law
enforcement agents. Our partnerships with federal officials are a key part of
our strategies for reducing gun violence. Federal criminal sentences for gun
violence are usually more certain than those provided under state law. And federal agencies provide important resources
in personnel, equipment, and intelligence about violent criminals.
The respect for federal agencies among local
police, particularly with respect to reducing gun violence, is found
nationwide. The Police Executive
Research Forum (PERF), a policing research organization, in 2009 conducted a survey
of all local law enforcement agencies serving cities of 100,000 or more
regarding their gun violence strategies.
PERF
asked the local police to “rate” dozens of gun violence reduction strategies,
such as tracing guns found at crime scenes, investigating straw purchases of
guns on behalf of convicted felons, deploying gunshot detection technology, targeting
violent gangs, removing guns from the scene of domestic violence calls, and providing
gun safety education in schools.
The strategies
that involve working with federal law enforcement agencies and federal
prosecutors received high approval ratings. In fact, the Number 1 strategy that
police chiefs consider most effective in preventing gun violence is submitting
cases to the U.S. Attorney for prosecution. Police chiefs wish that federal prosecutors could
handle more gun violence cases
resulting from partnerships between local police and federal agents.
A
large-scale operation of this kind made headlines in St. Louis in July. More than 200 people were arrested and 265
firearms were seized in the operation, which involved more than 80 ATF
personnel working with St. Louis police and others.
The
arrestees had a total of more than 2,300 prior arrests – and yet these people
were still on the streets of St. Louis and East St. Louis, armed and dangerous.
Because of this joint operation, the arrestees are now facing federal charges
with significant penalties. This will make our neighborhoods safer.
Similar
results were obtained in the Kansas City area in May, when an operation by ATF
and Kansas City Police produced 61 arrests and seizure of 222 firearms. Some of
the seized guns had been used in multiple violent crimes, including unsolved
homicide investigations. This operation targeted armed career criminals –
violent felons who carry guns.
Local
police chiefs are grateful for the help we receive from ATF, the FBI, and other
federal agencies. And yet if House Bill
436 were allowed to take effect, instead of thanking federal agents for helping
us take violent offenders off the street, our duty would be to arrest the
federal agents.
The
outcome of this absurd legislation is that our communities will be less safe if
criminals are not prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Other states recognize the value of
partnerships between local police and federal agencies. If Missouri shuts down these partnerships because
of a decision made by legislators, in effect we will be encouraging criminals
to come to Missouri.
We urge
our legislators to sustain the Governor’s veto of House Bill 436 and allow
Missouri’s law enforcement agencies to work with federal agencies. The citizens
of Kansas City and St. Louis will be better off for it.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org
