According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 2021 was the “deadliest year for law enforcement officers in history.” In the wake of two more police officers murdered in New York in what is starting out as a potentially deadlier year than the last, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) faces a Republican challenger, Desi Cuellar, who is calling for the death penalty for all convicted cop killers.

Cuellar spoke about the recent violence against police in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“What breaks my heart the most is that officers like Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora are heroes — everybody says that, nobody has a problem saying that,” Cuellar said Wednesday. “But it is a shame that our brave men and women who risk their lives every day to protect us have to die before we look at them or refer to them as heroes.”