Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto passed the bipartisan legislation she introduced with Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to ensure the families of retired law enforcement officers who were killed as a result of their service are not unjustly denied benefits. The Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act now heads to the House of Representatives for a vote.
This bill is named after Chief Herbert D. Proffitt, a Korean war veteran and law enforcement officer of 55 years who retired in 2009 as Chief of the Tompkinsville, Kentucky Police Department. On August 28, 2012, Chief Proffitt was tragically shot and killed in his driveway by an individual he had arrested a decade earlier. Although his murder was a direct retaliation for his service in uniform, his family was denied benefits under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program simply because he had already retired.
“Even though his murder was a direct retaliation for his service in uniform, Chief Proffitt’s family was denied the benefits they deserved simply because he had already retired,” said Senator Cortez Masto on the Senate floor. “To me, that is unacceptable. And I know my colleagues on both sides of the aisle agree.”
The Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act passed the Senate with unanimous consent. Originally, Senator Cortez Masto tried to pass seven bills to support law enforcement officers, but her motion was objected to. Only the Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act and the Improving Police CARE Act successfully passed the Senate. The other bills that Cortez Masto attempted to pass are:
- The Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure Act, which would equip local governments with training and tools to guard against exposure to dangerous substances;
- the Reauthorizing Support and Treatment for Officers in Crisis Act of 2025, which would provide help for police officers and other first responders struggling with mental health issues;
- the PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act of 2025, which would reauthorize and modernize the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program;
- the Strong Communities Act of 2025, which would incentivize police recruits to work in the communities where they live;
- the Retired Law Enforcement Officers Continuing Service Act, which would support law enforcement agencies in hiring retired law enforcement officers to perform civilian tasks.
As the former top law enforcement official in Nevada, Senator Cortez Masto has been a leading advocate in the Senate for our police officers and is part of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus. She has secured historic funding for the Byrne JAG grant program, the leading source of criminal justice funding in the country. Her bipartisan bills to combat the crisis of law enforcement suicide and provide mental health resources to police officers have been signed into law by presidents of both parties. Her BADGES for Native Communities Act to support the Bureau of Indian Affairs with law enforcement recruitment and retention passed the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
###