Sec. 201. De-escalation, use of force, and body-worn camera policy
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Subtitle A of title VII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended by this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new sections: Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Management, in consultation with Associate Secretary, shall update the Department-wide policy issued on September 7, 2018, on the use of force by law enforcement officers of the Department to ensure that such officers use only the amount of force that is objectively reasonable in consideration of the facts and circumstances at issue to bring incidents under control effectively, while also ensuring the safety of such officers and other individuals.
Such updated policy shall set forth in a clear and consistent manner that de-escalation is preferred. The Department-wide policy updated pursuant to subsection
(a)shall require— law enforcement officers of the Department to complete initial and recurrent training in the full range of use of force tactics, including the use of de-escalation; the head of each component of the Department with such officers to— designate an individual or individuals, having subject matter expertise regarding use of force policy, training, and the application of use of force tactics, including de-escalation tactics, to be responsible for ensuring compliance with such updated policy; and maintain a use of force review council or committee, the members of which shall have subject matter expertise described in subparagraph
(A)to perform internal analysis of use of force incidents to— inform training and tactics and develop recommendations for improvements to policies and procedures; and identify trends and lessons learned to be shared within the component and across the Department; make recommendations with regard to, or report deficiencies in, training, policies, or procedures; and maintain data regarding use of force within such component in accordance with subsection (c). The Associate Secretary shall— issue requirements for the head of each component of the Department to collect and maintain data regarding the use of force within each such component necessary to publish the report required under subparagraph (B); and publish, every six months, a report on the Department’s website containing, to the extent possible— data regarding each incident during the previous six-month period in which lethal force was used by law enforcement officers of the Department that— is disaggregated by component; and describes— specific information on the region or jurisdiction in which each such incident occurred; and the circumstances surrounding each such incident; and a specification of whether a Department officer or other individual was injured or killed in each such incident; and in conjunction with the report required under subparagraph (B), publish a summary of any reviews with respect to which, during the previous six-month period, final action was taken, including a summary of the findings resulting from any such reviews and any findings relating to whether the uses of force contemplated by any such reviews complied with Federal law and Department-wide policy. Any information published pursuant to this subsection shall be presented in a manner that protects individual privacy. The Inspector General of the Department shall on an ongoing basis review compliance with subsections
(a)and (c). The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Associate Secretary, shall maintain an intradepartmental council, chaired by the Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans, at which representatives from the following components and entities may share lessons learned, best practices, and trends regarding de-escalation and use of force policies, training, and oversight: The Office of the Under Secretary for Management. U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Coast Guard. The Secret Service. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Transportation Security Administration. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers. The Office of the General Counsel. The Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The Privacy Office. The Secretary shall develop mechanisms for appropriate stakeholders, including labor organizations, to provide feedback, on an ongoing basis, to the council regarding its sharing of lessons learned, best practices, and trends regarding de-escalation and use of force. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Management, shall develop and disseminate a Department-wide directive for requiring by December 31, 2022, the use of body-worn cameras by all uniformed law enforcement officers of the Department and dashboard cameras for all marked vehicles of the Department and associated recording protocols. The Department-wide directive required under paragraph
(1)shall consider principles published by major civil and human rights organizations regarding body-worn cameras and dashboard cameras and include the following: Benchmarks for implementation of the use of body-worn cameras by uniformed law enforcement officers and dashboard cameras for marked vehicles of the Department. Training requirements, procedures, and best practices for the use of body-worn cameras and dashboard cameras. Plans to publicize the directive and the requirements set forth in this section so that the workforce and other impacted individuals are notified of new policies, in particular, those regarding the retention and right to inspect body-worn camera footage. The directive required under paragraph
(1)shall not apply— to any personnel who operate in a location where the Secretary carries out redundant video-monitoring or video-surveillance that is maintained in good working order and that provides video footage of a quality that is the same or better than that which would be captured by a body-worn camera or dashboard camera; to any vehicle that serves as a mobile command vehicle, and to any personnel therein; to any vehicle, including any Federal, State, local, or rented vehicle, that the Secretary deploys in support of protective operations and to any law enforcement personnel therein while such personnel are engaged in such protective operations; and in instances in which an immediate threat to the life or safety of a uniformed law enforcement officer of the Department makes activating a body-worn camera or dashboard camera impossible or dangerous, except that in such an instance such officer shall activate any such camera at the first reasonable opportunity to do so. Body camera and dashboard camera video footage shall be retained by the law enforcement agency that employs the officer whose camera captured the footage, or an authorized agent thereof, for 6 months after the date it was recorded, after which time such footage shall be permanently deleted. Notwithstanding the retention and deletion requirements in paragraph (1)— video footage shall be automatically retained for not less than 3 years if the video footage captures an interaction or event involving— any use of force; or an encounter about which a complaint has been registered by a subject of the video footage; and body camera video footage shall also be retained for not less than 3 years if a longer retention period is voluntarily requested by— the uniformed officer whose body camera recorded the video footage, if that officer reasonably asserts the video footage has evidentiary or exculpatory value in an ongoing investigation; any uniformed officer who is a subject of the video footage, if that officer reasonably asserts the video footage has evidentiary or exculpatory value; any superior officer of a uniformed officer whose body camera recorded the video footage or who is a subject of the video footage, if that superior officer reasonably asserts the video footage has evidentiary or exculpatory value; any uniformed officer, if the video footage is being retained solely and exclusively for police training purposes; any member of the public who is a subject of the video footage; any parent or legal guardian of a minor who is a subject of the video footage; or a deceased subject’s spouse, next of kin, or legally authorized designee. During the retention periods described in paragraphs
(1)and (2), the following persons shall have the right to inspect, but not retain or in any matter alter, the body camera footage: Any person who is a subject of body camera video footage, and their designated legal counsel. A parent of a minor subject of body camera video footage, and their designated legal counsel. The spouse, next of kin, or legally authorized designee of a deceased subject of body camera video footage, and their designated legal counsel. A uniformed officer whose body camera recorded the video footage, and their designated legal counsel, subject to the limitations and restrictions in this part. The superior officer of a uniformed officer whose body camera recorded the video footage, subject to the limitations and restrictions in this part. Any defense counsel who claims, pursuant to a written affidavit, to have a reasonable basis for believing a video may contain evidence that exculpates a client. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section and every 180 days thereafter until the Secretary submits the certification described in paragraph (2), the Under Secretary for Management shall report to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate regarding progress on efforts to implement the Department-wide directive described in subsection (a). A certification described in this paragraph is a certification submitted by the Secretary to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate that the Department has fully implemented the directive described in subsection (a). Beginning on the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this section, a law enforcement officer of the Department who intentionally uses a chokehold or carotid hold shall be subject to disciplinary review. Such officer may be subject to disciplinary action, consistent with chapter 75 of title V, including termination, except in instances in which the use of such force is determined by the Secretary Associate Secretary to be objectively reasonable under the circumstances. In this section, the terms chokehold and carotid hold mean the application of any pressure to the throat or windpipe, the use of maneuvers that restrict blood or oxygen flow to the brain, or carotid artery restraints that prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air of an individual. . The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting at the end of the items relating to subtitle A of title VII the following new items: Sec. 719. De-escalation and use of force. Sec. 720. Body-worn camera and dashboard cameras. Sec. 721. Prohibited use of force. .
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Sec. 201
De-escalation, use of force, and body-worn camera policy
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