American leaders bear responsibility for vilifying police officers, following the death of a sheriff’s deputy who was “mowed down by a bloodthirsty criminal” in Cincinnati, according to Vice President JD Vance.
Vance said that supporting law enforcement requires both policy and moral leadership, while he remembered Hamilton County, Ohio, Special Deputy Larry Henderson during a law enforcement breakfast Wednesday at the vice president’s residence.
“Larry Henderson lost his life because he was doing his job and keeping people safe,” Vance said Wednesday. “And when I think about why that senseless crime happened, obviously you’ve got to place blame on the guy who committed the crime.
“But I also think a lot of the blame falls on American leadership, who for too long, have made our police officers out to be enemies, instead of the great public servants that all of us know that they are,” he said.
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A car hit Henderson while he directed traffic near the University of Cincinnati during a graduation ceremony on May 2.
Rodney Hinton faces charges of aggravated murder, and authorities claim he deliberately drove into Henderson after police officers shot and killed Hinton’s 18-year-old son May 1. Hinton’s son was allegedly armed and in the middle of fleeing the scene of a stolen vehicle investigation when he was shot.
Hinton pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday, and a judge set the trial date for February 2026.
Hinton “intentionally murdered a retired deputy who was working special duty at a graduation just because he was a police officer,” according to the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police President Jay McDonald.
Meanwhile, Vance reassured law enforcement officials at the breakfast that President Donald Trump backs them.
“So know from the president on down, this administration stands behind you guys,” Vance said. “We love you guys. We know that you’re out there doing a good job for us. And I think that moral leadership matters just as much as the public policy. But from this administration, you’re, of course, getting it both.”
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Vance pointed to a recent executive order Trump signed in April that aims to bolster resources for law enforcement officers, and includes provisions that would provide legal resources for officers who “unjustly” encounter fees tied to their official duties, and said the Trump administration wants to implement reforms that make it easier for police officers to do their jobs.
“We want to make it harder for people to sue police officers when they’re acting appropriately in the line of duty,” Vance said. “We want to make sure so that when you guys are out there keeping us safe and you’re of course worried about all the bad guys, you’re also not worried about bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., preventing you from doing the job that the American people need you to do.”
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Henderson’s death has prompted lawmakers to initiate reform.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, introduced the Larry Henderson Act into the Senate Monday, which would require those found guilty of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer to serve at least a 20-year sentence. That is up from the one to eight years in prison currently in place.
“Enough is enough,” Moreno said in a Monday statement. “Anyone who assaults one of our men or women in blue needs to face severe consequences, period.”
During National Police Week, Vance is also scheduled to speak at the 44th annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service Thursday at the U.S. Capitol.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
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