On August 19, Assemblyman Joe DeStefano (R,C,I,Ref-Medford) stood alongside members of the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) to call for passage of a bill he sponsored that would deem any crimes against emergency medical services personnel, fire fighters, police officers or law enforcement officers as hate crimes (A.6169).

“In today’s society, attacks on our emergency medical services personnel, firefighters and law enforcement officers seem to become more prevalent each day. These courageous men and women put their lives on the line every day for us; the very least we can do is ensure they are protected from attacks,” said DeStefano. “It’s appalling that we even have to hold a press conference to call for passage of this bill. Protecting our dedicated men and women against attacks shouldn’t be a political, partisan issue. I will continue to fight for passage of this extremely important bill and will not stop fighting until the culture of discrimination against the police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel is banished from our society forever.”