On the recordMay 19, 2017
Today I am here to talk about a bill that should be a fully bipartisan bill supported by all Members of this body. It gives our probation officers the tools they need to defend themselves, but also, at the same time, protect the people who are on probation that the probation officers are trying to help and protect and keep on track and get them back on a path to productive citizenship in this country. Sometimes they are impeded from doing their job, not just verbally. I was a cop for 33 years. I was verbally abused thousands of times. I have lost track. Those bounce off the badge, and that is what probation officers do. Verbal abuse is verbal abuse. You deal with it, you handle it, and you go about your day. But when somebody puts their hands on you, or they spit on you, that is physical. That is assault. Probation officers should be able to protect themselves and take actions in those instances when they are assaulted. You don't need an arrest warrant. You don't need a search warrant to arrest someone who has just assaulted an officer. This is common sense. So to say you need a search warrant or an arrest warrant to arrest someone who has assaulted you is the wrong way to look at this law. The person who is being supervised lives in a residence, and the probation officer has the authority to go to that residence and has the authority, by the way, Mr. Speaker, to walk into that residence.…
