Sec. 2. Use of force by Federal law enforcement officers
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/bill/116/hr/4359/ih/section-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
A Federal law enforcement officer may not use any less lethal force unless such less lethal force is necessary and proportional in order to effectuate an arrest of a person who the officer has probable cause to believe has committed a criminal offense, and only after exhausting reasonable alternatives to the use of such force. A Federal law enforcement officer may not use deadly force against a person unless— such force is necessary, as a last resort, to prevent imminent and serious bodily injury or death to the officer or another person; the use of such forces creates no substantial risk of injury to a third person; and reasonable alternatives to the use of such force have been exhausted.
When feasible, prior to using force against a person, a Federal law enforcement officer shall identify himself or herself as a law enforcement officer, and issue a verbal warning to the person that the law enforcement officer seeks to apprehend, which warning includes— a request that the person surrender to the law enforcement officer; and notifies the person that the law enforcement officer will use force against the person if the person resists arrest or flees. Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with impacted persons, communities, or organizations, including representatives of civil and human rights organizations, victims of police use of force, and representatives of law enforcement associations, shall provide guidance to Federal law enforcement agencies on the types of less lethal force and deadly force that are prohibited under subsections
(a)and (b), and how a Federal law enforcement officer can assess whether the use of force is appropriate and necessary, and use the least amount of force when interacting with— pregnant women; children and youth under age 21; elderly persons; persons with mental, behavioral, or physical disabilities or impairments; persons experiencing perceptual or cognitive impairments due to use of alcohol, narcotics, hallucinogenic, or other drugs; persons suffering from a serious medical condition; and persons with limited English proficiency. The Attorney General shall provide training to Federal law enforcement officers on interacting people described in paragraphs
(1)through
(7)of subsection (d). In this section: The term deadly force means force that creates a substantial risk of causing death or serious bodily injury, including the discharge of a firearm, respiratory chokeholds, and multiple discharges of an electronic control weapon. The term Federal law enforcement officer means any officer, agent, or employee of the United States authorized by law or by a Government agency to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of any violation of Federal criminal law. The term less lethal force means any degree of force that is not likely to have lethal effect. The term necessary means that another reasonable Federal law enforcement officer would objectively conclude, under the totality of the circumstances, that there was no reasonable alternative to the use of force. The term reasonable alternatives means tactics and methods used by a law enforcement officer to effectuate an arrest that do not unreasonably increase the risk posed to the law enforcement officer or another person, including verbal communication, distance, warnings, deescalation tactics and techniques, tactical repositioning, and other tactics and techniques intended to stabilize the situation and reduce the immediacy of the risk so that more time, options, and resources can be called upon to resolve the situation without the use of force. With respect to the use of deadly force, such term includes the use of less lethal force. The term deescalation tactics and techniques means proactive actions and approaches used by a law enforcement officer to stabilize the situation so that more time, options, and resources are available to gain a person’s voluntary compliance and reduce or eliminate the need to use force, including verbal persuasion, warnings, tactical techniques, slowing down the pace of an incident, waiting out a subject, creating distance between the officer and the threat, and requesting additional resources to resolve the incident. The term totality of the circumstances means all credible facts known to the law enforcement officer leading up to and at the time of the use of force, including the actions of the person against whom the law enforcement officer uses such force and the actions of the law enforcement officer. Chapter 51 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: It is not a defense to an offense under section 1111 or 1112 that the use of less lethal or deadly force was justified in the case of a Federal law enforcement officer— whose use of such force was inconsistent with section 2 of the Police Exercising Absolute Care With Everyone Act of 2019; or whose gross negligence, leading up to and at the time of the use of force, contributed to the necessity of the use of such force. In this section, the term Federal law enforcement officer has the meaning given such term in section 115. . The table of sections for chapter 51 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item related to section 1122 the following: 1123. Limitation on justification defense for Federal law enforcement officers. .