GOP senator unleashes bill with severe consequences for harming police

FIRST ON FOX: Ohio freshman GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno has introduced legislation that would increase the criminal penalties for harming a police officer after a sheriff’s deputy was killed in the line of duty in Cincinnati, Ohio, earlier this month.

Moreno’s Larry Henderson Act, being introduced this week, would update existing law stating that anyone who forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with any law enforcement officer engaged in official duties be required to face one to eight years in prison, depending on the severity.

Moreno’s bill would up that mandatory minimum to 20 years. 

The bill also “establishes federal jurisdiction over these crimes as exclusive and preemptive, superseding state or local prosecution for federal officers.”

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“Enough is enough,” Moreno told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“Anyone who assaults one of our men or women in blue needs to face severe consequences, period. Deputy Larry Henderson should be alive today, and that’s why I’m introducing legislation – in his honor – to protect our law enforcement officers.”

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The bill is named after Hamilton County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Henderson, who was killed when he was struck by a car while directing traffic near the University of Cincinnati during a graduation ceremony.

Authorities have charged Rodney Hinton with attempted murder and say he intentionally struck Henderson shortly after Hinton’s 18-year-old son was shot and killed by officers after allegedly fleeing in a stolen car while armed, according to prosecutors.

Ohio Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President Jay McDonald said in a statement that Ryan’s father, Rodney Hinton Jr., “intentionally murdered a retired deputy who was working special duty at a graduation just because he was a police officer.”

Henderson was a 33-year officer with the HCSO and had served in multiple specialized units since 1991, including the dive team, HCPA SWAT, FBI Task Force Officer and the HCSO Bomb Unit.

“In Deputy Henderson’s early tenure as a Sheriff’s Deputy, I recognized his talent for teaching and presentation,” Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said in a statement after Henderson’s death.

“Larry began his journey as a Sheriff’s Office trainer early in his career. He developed an expertise and became an excellent trainer. Subsequently, he trained divisions of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office that included hundreds of deputy sheriffs. His ability to relate to and touch officers’ lives was extraordinary. We will continue to honor Larry’s life of service.”

Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin contributed to this report