Blue Alert to Warn of Threats Against Officers

It’s modeled after the Amber Alert system. An alert that would go out nationwide when a threat is made against law enforcement.

It’s called a Blue Alert. and it was signed into law by the president. It comes after an increase in attacks on police officers.

"It’s important for us to not only honor their memory, it’s also important for us to do everything we can to ensure the safety of our officers when they’re in the line of duty," President Obama said as he signed the Blue Alert into law.

President Obama was joined by the families of fallen police officers Rafael Ramos and WenJian Liu when he signed the Blue Alert law.
The two New York city police officers were ambushed and killed by a Maryland man who’d made threats on Instagram.
But those threats were never relayed across state lines to New York police.

"I think having this on a national level gives us that much more ability to apprehend those individuals who have killed officers, seriously injured them or made credible threats against police officers," said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.

Fresno police chief Jerry Dyer has had officers shot and wounded in the line of duty.
One of the most serious, officer Brian Nieto, who nearly lost his life in July of 2006 when he was shot by a Bulldog gang member.
dyer says violence against his officers has increased in the past year.

"The assaults on police officers is up. Officers killed in the line of duty this past year is up. 13 police officers killed in California last year," Dyer said.

Fresno police have taken precautions when they receive threats: officers riding two to a car for added safety, and officers pulled from motorcycles and put in patrol cars for more protection.

Under the Blue Alert law, the Justice Department will create a notification system that can be activated when there is a threat against law enforcement or a suspect on the loose.