1.This Act may be cited as the
Officer Safety Act of
2012
.
2.Section 1442 of
title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (c) and
inserting the following:
(c)For purposes of
subsection (a), a law enforcement officer, who is the defendant in a criminal
prosecution, shall be deemed to have been acting under the color of his office
if the officer—
(1)protected an
individual in the presence of the officer from a crime of violence;
(2)provided immediate
assistance to an individual who suffered, or who was threatened with, bodily
harm; or
(3)prevented the
escape of any individual who the officer reasonably believed to have committed,
or was about to commit, in the presence of the officer, a crime of violence
that resulted in, or was likely to result in, death or serious bodily
injury.
(d)In this section,
the following definitions apply:
(1)The terms
civil action and criminal prosecution include any
proceeding (whether or not ancillary to another proceeding) to the extent that
in such proceeding a judicial order, including a subpoena for testimony or
documents, is sought or issued. If removal is sought for a proceeding described
in the previous sentence, and there is no other basis for removal, only that
proceeding may be removed to the district court.
(2)The term
crime of violence has the meaning given that term in section 16 of
title 18.
(3)The term law
enforcement officer means any employee described in subparagraph (A),
(B), or (C) of section 8401(17) of title 5 and any special agent in the
Diplomatic Security Service of the Department of State.
(4)The term
serious bodily injury has the meaning given that term in section
1365 of title 18.
(5)The term
State includes the District of Columbia, United States territories
and insular possessions, and Indian country (as defined in section 1151 of
title 18).
(6)The term
State court includes the Superior Court of the District of
Columbia, a court of a United States territory or insular possession, and a
tribal
court.
.