Sec. 321. De-escalation, use of force, and body-worn camera policy
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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 Associate Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Management, 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; and to ensure the safety of such officers and other individuals; and 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 de-escalation; require the head of each component of the Department with such officers to— designate an individual, having subject matter expertise relating to the 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; include recommendations relating to, or report deficiencies in, training, policies, or procedures; and maintain data relating to the use of force within each 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 relating to the use of force within each such component necessary to publish the report required under subparagraph (B); publish, every six months, a report on the website of the Department that includes— data relating to 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; 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; and not later than 24 hours after any use-of-force incident that results in the hospitalization or death of an officer, agent, or member of the public, inform the public with respect to the facts relating to such incident. 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 respect to subsections
(a)and (c). The Secretary, acting through the Associate Secretary, shall establish and maintain an intra-departmental 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: Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers. The Coast Guard. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The Office of the General Counsel. The Office of the Under Secretary for Management. The Privacy Office. The Secret Service. The Transportation Security Administration. U.S. Customs and Border Protection. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Secretary shall develop a process for the intra-departmental council to receive on an ongoing basis, feedback relating to the sharing of lessons learned, best practices, and trends with respect to de-escalation and use of force from appropriate stakeholders, including labor organizations. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through the Associate Secretary, shall develop and disseminate a Department-wide directive 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 relating to the use of body-worn cameras and dashboard cameras to 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 to inform law enforcement officers 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 with respect to 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 law enforcement officer whose camera captured the footage, or an authorized agent thereof, for six months after the date on which it was recorded, after which time such footage shall be permanently deleted. Notwithstanding the retention and deletion requirements in paragraph (1)— such video footage shall be automatically retained for not less than three years if the video footage captures an interaction or event involving— any use of force; or an encounter involving a registered complaint by a subject of the video footage; or such video footage shall be retained for not less than three years if a longer retention period is voluntarily requested by— the uniformed law enforcement 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; or 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 law enforcement 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 law enforcement 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 spouse of a deceased subject, next of kin, or legally authorized designee. During the retention periods described in paragraphs
(1)and (2), the following individuals shall have the right to inspect, but not retain or in any matter alter, the body camera footage: Any individual 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 law enforcement 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 submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report relating to the progress of the implementation of 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 on an individual— shall be subject to disciplinary review; and may be subject to disciplinary action, consistent with chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code, including termination. The requirement under subsection
(a)shall not apply in the case of a law enforcement officer of the Department or a component of the Department if the Secretary or Associate Secretary determine the use of a chokehold or carotid hold on an individual 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, as amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting after the item relating to section 715 the following new items: Sec. 716. De-escalation and use of force. Sec. 717. Body-worn camera and dashboard cameras. Sec. 718. Prohibited use of force. .
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Sec. 321
De-escalation, use of force, and body-worn camera policy
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