06 February 2019 :

SB 1501 that would sentence those convicted of killing a police officer to life in prison or death is moving forward in the Virginia Senate. The bill passed the Senate in a 35-5 vote Monday. Senator Bill Carrico, a Republican representative from Fries, introduced the legislation that would amend the current capital murder charge involving a law enforcement officer. If the bill becomes law, someone convicted of killing a law enforcement officer would be sentenced to no less than life in prison or could face the death penalty. A law enforcement officer includes a fire marshal or a deputy or an assistant fire marshal, auxiliary deputy sheriff, or any law-enforcement officer of another state or the United States having the power to arrest.