Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The FBI Agents Association is supporting a bill that would authorize federal agents to respond and help local authorities during mass shootings and other violence at a public place, the Washington Times reports.
The association, which announced its support Wednesday, said the bill would make it easier for feds to help local officials during any violent crime in a public area, the Washington Times wrote.
Association President Konrad Motyka said the Investigative Assistance for Violent Crime Act of 2012 would avoid unnecessary confusion and lift bureaucratic hurdles.
“FBI agents have a long history of working closely with state and local law enforcement officials to investigate crimes,” Motyka said. “However, the FBI must often find indirect grants of authority in order to assist with state and local investigations. This is because of the current ambiguous statutory language granting authority to the FBI and other federal law enforcement officers to provide investigative assistance for certain nonfederal crimes, such as mass killings.
