New York City

Obama signs bill creating nationwide alert system for police

May 19, 2015 Associated Press
President Barack Obama reaches for a pen as he signs S. 665, the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015 on Tuesday in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. From left are, Justin Ramos, 19, Jayden Ramos, 14, Vice President Joe Biden, Maritza Ramos, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., Wei Tang Liu, and Xiu Li. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
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President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed into law a measure to create a nationwide alert system to help catch anyone who hurts, kills or makes credible threats against police officers.

The bill is named for Brooklyn Detectives Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were shot in Bedford-Stuyvesant days before Christmas by a man who later killed himself. Families of the slain officers were on hand to see Obama sign the bill in the Oval Office.

The new system would be similar to the Amber Alerts used to find abducted children.

Obama says it’s important for communities to do everything possible to ensure the safety of police officers. He says the alerts could help warn officers when there is an active threat against them.

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