A person attends a candlelight vigil to honor the law enforcement officers who lost their lives in 2024, during National Police Week on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 13, 2025. (Jose Luis Magana/The Associated Press)

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This week marks National Police Week, a time to pay tribute to officers who have fallen in the line of duty and honor those who continue to serve.

As a former law enforcement officer with more than 20 years of experience, I know firsthand the sacrifices law enforcement officers make daily. They don’t do it for glory or power. They do it because there is gratification in keeping their friends, neighbors and communities safe. It is truly an honorable and noble profession.

Unfortunately, for the past few years, Democrats have taken law enforcement for granted, with some on the extreme left even going so far as to vilify these heroes. Beginning in 2020, extreme politicians in city councils, state legislatures, governors’ mansions and even the halls of Congress began to push the dangerous and radical “defund the police” agenda.

This “defund” movement has had a crippling impact on states and cities across the nation. Nowhere was this more evident than in Minnesota. After Gov. Tim Walz allowed Minneapolis to burn for three days and the Minneapolis City Council put forward a proposal to defund the police, Minneapolis police staffing levels reached historic lows, crime skyrocketed and violence against our law enforcement dramatically increased. Last year was especially painful for Minnesota as it marked the most shooting deaths of law enforcement in the state in 42 years.

Adding insult to injury, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty — widely regarded as one of the most anti-law enforcement prosecutors in the country — tried to imprison an innocent state trooper even as she handed out plea deals to violent offenders, decisions she was apparently making based on race. In doing so, Moriarty has not only eroded the public’s trust in our justice system, but she has left our communities vulnerable to repeat offenders and made officers even less safe on the job. [Minnesota Star Tribune opinion editor’s note: In the case of state trooper Ryan Londregan, Moriarty initially filed but later dropped murder, manslaughter and assault charges in the shooting death of motorist Ricky Cobb II.]

Law enforcement officers deserve better than this dysfunction, and so do the communities they protect. Luckily, we have a new president in the White House, and instead of defunding and disenfranchising the police, he is working to defend them.

Recently, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to empower members of law enforcement to do their jobs safely and protect innocent citizens. Included in this order are mandates to increase officer pay, improve training, enhance punishments for those who harm law enforcement, strengthen legal protections for law enforcement and bolster the Department of Defense 1033 Program, which allows the department to transfer unused and excess military equipment to local law enforcement.

As the author of legislation to protect the 1033 Program, I am glad to see the president take action to prioritize it — this program was a vital resource for me during my time in law enforcement.

I’m also happy that the Justice Department is fully aligned with the president‘s commitment to protect officers and the communities they serve. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Justice Department would open an investigation into Moriarty’s requirement that race be considered in plea deals. There is no doubt that officers have been disheartened to see the same criminals they risked their lives to bring to justice end up walking free, and I know the Justice Department will help end this malpractice.

We are only a little over 100 days into Trump‘s second term, and his administration has already done a lot to reverse the damage the extreme left inflicted on law enforcement. This Police Week, let us all honor and pray for our police officers and defend, not defund, their important service to our communities.

Pete Stauber, a Republican, represents Minnesota’s Eighth District in the U.S. House.