A Senate committee passed a bill Tuesday that would stiffen criminal penalties against those who murder an on-duty firefighter.
Under the proposal (SB 370), the convicted murderer of a firefighter would face the same consequences as a person who killed a police or correctional officer — life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Republican Sen. Ed Hooper — a former firefighter himself — is the bill sponsor.
“Those that serve and protect us need to have the same protection when they are attacked and killed,” Hooper said.
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee voted unanimously in favor of the bill. Lawmakers heard testimony from Randy Wise, a representative of the Florida Professional Firefighters association. Wise shared the story of two Jacksonville firefighters who were stabbed in 2020 by a patient while riding in the back of an ambulance. It was that incident, Wise said, that exposed the need for enhanced firefighter protections.