Oklahoma lawmakers are working on legislation aimed at supporting law enforcement and providing better benefits to police officers.
Two Republican state representatives, who call it the “Back the Blue” legislation, said it will increase pay for state troopers, create better retirement plans for law enforcement, and increase compensation for family members of officers who are killed in the line of duty, according to News 9.
“We have an aging workforce in law enforcement, and as these individuals retire, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to recruit police officers for the last decade,” state Rep. Kyle Hilbert said.
“I hope we show young men and women in Oklahoma that if you put [on a] blue uniform, we are going to support you,” he added.
It remains unclear where the funding would come from and whether such legislation would pass. But Hilbert, who noted he expects there to be some pushback, said, “Through and through for the most part, we support law enforcement in Oklahoma.”
Relationships between police departments and city leadership have become strained in many places across the country amid a burgeoning movement to defund law enforcement after George Floyd died on May 25 in police custody.
Police departments have been defunded in Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles, and several other cities during a time when protests and violent riots have injured hundreds of police officers and killed others.
Several police departments have seen an influx of police officers filing for retirement, including in New York City and Minneapolis.
