Bill > HR6622

This bill, known as the Officer Safety Act of 2012, amends federal law to allow law enforcement officers who are defendants in criminal cases to have their cases moved from state court to federal court if they were acting in their official capacity while responding to certain serious situations. Specifically, an officer can request this transfer, called "removal," if they were involved in protecting someone from a violent crime, providing immediate help to someone facing or experiencing bodily harm, or stopping someone they reasonably believed was about to commit or had committed a violent crime that could lead to death or serious bodily injury. The bill clarifies that "crime of violence" and "serious bodily injury" have specific legal definitions, and it also defines who qualifies as a "law enforcement officer" for the purposes of this act, including certain federal employees and Diplomatic Security Service agents, and expands the definition of "State court" to include courts in U.S. territories and tribal courts.