WASHINGTON, D.C.— Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird sat for a Police Week interview at the White House with Kyle Reyes, owner of the 1776 Project and Law Enforcement Today, and revealed how she has championed the prosecution of cold cases and protecting law enforcement officers from assault.
Bird offered support for the elimination of taxes on overtime and held particular praise for U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and President Donald Trump for taking money from “woke priorities,” and redirecting it “to things that make a difference on the street and helping people.”
During their conversation, the Iowa Attorney General and Reyes discussed her office’s partnership with local, state, and federal law enforcement. They highlighted new legislation passed recently, which she proposed to increase the criminal penalties for assaults on law enforcement officers. The new law now includes saliva as a “gross bodily fluid”, such as blood, feces, and urine, in the context of assaults with bodily fluids.
Bird was enthusiastic while discussing her legislative initiatives with Reyes. “We’ve got some big things going on. We started a cold case unit in our office for the first time ever, a statewide cold case unit.”
“We just filed charges in a case that is six years old. And we work with our local law enforcement all across the state on cold cases. It’s been phenomenal.” She added, noting that her office has emphasized, “a real focus on making sure victim services get to victims.”
Pivoting to the legislation she championed, Bird explained that she “had a big victory this year in the legislature with a law I proposed which would increase penalties on any assaults against law enforcement and protected occupations.”
She explained, “As part of that … I got to take care of some of my pet peeves… I made sure that spitting is considered, well, let’s call it one of the ‘gross bodily fluids,’ like blood, feces, and urine. We made sure that intentionally spitting on a law enforcement officer is punished, just like those other assaults with bodily fluids are.” Bird added her office is “making sure we’re keeping people safe and showing respect to our law enforcement.”
As the conversation moved to partnerships between local, state and federal law enforcement with Reyes pointing to the prominent presence of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) during Police Week, Bird noted, “partnership is so important because we have all kinds of different agencies that each have a mission but by working together we can make Iowa safer and stronger and do a better job… that partnership is what it’s all about, those relationships, and working together.”
Turning to the prominent Trump administration agenda item to eliminate taxation of overtime, Reyes referenced the struggle law enforcement families have experienced with the high cost of living wrought by the Biden Administration.
“We are in an age where everything’s expensive, right?” Reyes began. “And the last thing that we want is for our officers to have to worry about how to keep the community safe, how to keep their families safe, and how to put food on the table for their families. If your officers were to hear that they were going to have no tax on overtime in a little bit, how would that go over?“
Bird’s response was immediate: “Oh, they would love that! It would be tremendous. Many officers have to take on outside income in order to support their families. And we want to make sure that our law enforcement is treated the way they should be. I mean, I think they need more money, a raise, but not taxing overtime. That would be incredible and much appreciated.”
Finally, discussing the round table with USAG Pam Bondi and other national law enforcement leaders, Bird told Reyes, “It was phenomenal talking about the issues that people have in their states, and some things that we can do to work together with the federal government.”
“I really appreciate what she’s doing and what the President is doing to take some of that money that had been used in the past for, I’ll just call it ‘woke priorities,’ things that don’t make sense and don’t have anything to do with public safety or helping victims or supporting our law enforcement… taking the money away from those programs and redirecting it to things that make a difference on the street and helping people in real ways. …Great advancements happening at the Department of Justice and for law enforcement all across the country.”
Attorney General Bird expressed her appreciation for the law enforcement officers and their families nationwide, saying, “I appreciate you and please know: America, we appreciate our law enforcement. I know in Iowa, we sure do. Heroes with a good heart. And it’s a profession of sacrifice and service, and one that is noble. And with what is happening and some of the changes we’re seeing, I think we’ll see more people choosing to enter that noble profession of keeping their communities and their neighbors safe. I sure appreciate our law enforcement.”
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