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HAZLETON — U.S. Senator Pat Toomey organized a roundtable discussion Wednesday with area law enforcement officers and prosecutors about immigration, opioids, and resources for local police departments.
During the session at Hazleton City Hall, Toomey was joined by Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis, state Rep. Tarah Toohil, Hazleton Police Chief Jerry Speziale, and officers from Freeland and Butler Township.
Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, talked about three pieces of legislation he is sponsoring in the Senate, including the Lifesaving Gear for Police Act. It would allow police departments access to federal law enforcement and military equipment and stipulates that equipment confiscated under President Obama’s May 2015 executive order be returned to local agencies. This equipment can include armored vehicles with track-style locomotion, assault weapons, riot shields, and riot helmets. This executive order was implemented in response to concerns about the militarization of police in situations such as the protests and eventual riots in Ferguson, Missouri.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before where the men and women who protect our lives have been discredited, slandered, and attacked and it’s not right. Someone needs to stand up and defend them,” Toomey said. “One of the things I want to ensure is that the men and women protecting us have the opportunity to protect themselves. I think police officers should be at least be as well-protected as the criminals they are trying to apprehend.”
“President Obama decided that since this equipment might offend some people, we’re going to discontinue making this equipment available to police departments,” Toomey continued.
The second bill was the Thin Blue Line Act, which would make the targeting of a law enforcement officer an aggravating circumstance in considering capital punishment for a crime. The final act, known as the Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act, mandates that federal prisons provide a safe storage area for firearms so correctional officers may carry firearms on their commute to and from the prison. Lt. Albarati was killed in Puerto Rico while driving home from a shift at the Metropolitan Detention Center. It’s suspected he was targeted because he was a corrections officer.
The officials also discussed immigration in Hazleton and the fiercely debated topic of sanctuary cities. Toomey marked Philadelphia as a sanctuary city. Such cities minimally cooperate with federal law enforcement, especially Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants.
“This is madness. It’s like we’re going to confer a special legal privilege on someone who is a criminal because they came here illegally. It’s just unbelievable,” said Toomey, referring to the case of Winston Enrique Perez Pilarte who was released from custody in Philadelphia to avoid deportation after a detainer request was issued by ICE. According to a November 2016 ICE press release, Pilarte was charged with several crimes pertaining to the sexual assault of a minor.
Opioids also made it onto the table. District Attorney Salavantis expressed concerns with opioid use within Luzerne County. She estimated that 2017 will break another record for opioid overdoses. Last year, there were 142. Chief Speziale discussed that small bags of heroin can be bought for as little as $3 in Hazleton and the substance is only growing in potency.
Toomey also commented on his views to replace the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. Governor Tom Wolf sent Senator Toomey a letter Tuesday imploring him to reconsider his stance by mentioning four cases where the Affordable Care Act was beneficial to Pennsylvanians. “We’ve taken an absolutely unprecedented amount of phone calls, emails, and in-person meetings,” Toomey said. “I’ve been very candid for a long time. I disagree. I think Obamacare is failing. I think the individual market that Obamacare created is in a death spiral.”
“I still believe strongly that we have to repeal Obamacare and move in a different direction,” he said.