Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Tarr in the News: Efforts to Prevent the Impersonation of Federal Law Enforcement Officers
TARR IN THE NEWS | 8.18.25
By Times Staff | Gloucester Daily Times
Excerpts Below:
"CHEERS to a proposal from Massachusetts lawmakers that
would make it illegal to impersonate a federal law enforcement officer.
The sponsors of the bill, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr
and state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, both of Gloucester, note it is already
illegal to impersonate a state or local officer.
But, spurred on by the recent flood of armed, masked ICE
agents making their way across the state, the pair decided to act before any
potential copycats.
“While this bill wasn’t filed in response to any specific
incidents in Massachusetts, across the country there have been numerous
incidents of this kind of behavior,” Tarr said. “We need to make sure our laws
protect against these despicable acts.”"
AND
"Back on Beacon Hill, the proposed legislation would
increase penalties for those impersonating officers, regardless of whether they
are posing as local, state or federal agents, going from a fine of $400 and up
to a year in prison per offense to a $1,000 fine and 2½ years behind bars.
“It’s a very straightforward proposal,” Tarr told Statehouse
reporter Christian M. Wade. “There are a lot of issues that involve the federal
government that are not within our ability to address, but this one is squarely
in the court of the Legislature and the Healey administration. And my hope is
that we act on it quickly.”"
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