Preventing Tragedies Between Police and Communities Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1159 To require that States and localities receiving grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program require law enforce- ment officers to undergo training on and thereafter employ de-escalation techniques to assist in reducing the need for the use of force by such officers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 18, 2021 Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin (for herself, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsyl- vania, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. PANETTA, and Mr. DEUTCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To require that States and localities receiving grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program require law enforcement officers to undergo training on and thereafter employ de-escalation tech- niques to assist in reducing the need for the use of force by such officers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1159 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Tragedies 2 Between Police and Communities Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. TRAINING ON DE-ESCALATION FOR LAW ENFORCE- 4 MENT. 5 (a) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—For each fiscal year 6 after the expiration of the period specified in subsection 7 (d) in which a State or unit of local government receives 8 a grant under part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con- 9 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et 10 seq.), the State or unit of local government shall require 11 that all individuals enrolled in an academy of a law en- 12 forcement agency of the State or unit of local government 13 and all law enforcement officers of the State or unit of 14 local government fulfill a training session on de-escalation 15 techniques each fiscal year, including— 16 (1) the use of alternative non-lethal methods of 17 applying force and techniques that prevent the offi- 18 cer from escalating any situation where force is like- 19 ly to be used; 20 (2) verbal and physical tactics to minimize the 21 need for the use of force, with an emphasis on com- 22 munication, negotiation, de-escalation techniques, 23 providing the time needed to resolve the incident 24 safely for everyone; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1159 IH (3) the use of the lowest level of force that is 1 a possible and safe response to an identified threat, 2 then re-evaluating the threat as it progresses; 3 (4) techniques that provide all officers with 4 awareness and recognition of mental health and sub- 5 stance abuse issues with an emphasis on commu- 6 nication strategies, training officers simultaneously 7 in teams on de-escalation and use of force to im- 8 prove group dynamics and diminish excessive use of 9 force during critical incidents; 10 (5) principles of using distance, cover, and time 11 when approaching and managing critical incidents, 12 and elimination of the use of concepts like the ‘‘21- 13 foot rule’’ and ‘‘drawing a line in the sand’’ in favor 14 of using distance and cover to create a ‘‘reaction 15 gap’’; 16 (6) crisis intervention strategies to appro- 17 priately identify and respond to individuals suffering 18 from mental health or substance abuse issues, with 19 an emphasis on de-escalation tactics and promoting 20 effective communication; and 21 (7) other evidence-based approaches, found to 22 be appropriate by the Attorney General, that en- 23 hance de-escalation skills and tactics, such as the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1159 IH Critical Decision-Making Model and scenario-based 1 trainings. 2 In the case of individuals attending an academy, such 3 training session shall be for such an appropriate amount 4 of time as to ensure academy participants receive effective 5 training under this subsection and in the case of all other 6 law enforcement officers, the training session shall be for 7 an appropriate amount of time as to ensure officers receive 8 effective training under this subsection. The State or unit 9 of local government shall certify to the Attorney General 10 of the United States that such training sessions have been 11 completed. 12 (b) SCENARIO-BASED TRAINING.—Training de- 13 scribed in subsection (a) shall be conducted with an em- 14 phasis on training that employs theories of de-escalation 15 techniques and applies them to practical on-the-job sce- 16 narios that regularly face law enforcement officers. 17 (c) CROSS-TRAINING.—To the extent practicable, 18 principles of training as described in subsection (a) shall 19 be applied to other training conducted at the academy. 20 (d) COMPLIANCE AND INELIGIBILITY.— 21 (1) COMPLIANCE DATE.—Beginning not later 22 than 1 year after the date of this Act, each State 23 or unit of local government receiving a grant shall 24 comply with subsection (a), except that the Attorney 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1159 IH General may grant an additional 6 months to a 1 State or unit of local government that is making 2 good faith efforts to comply with such subsection. 3 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDS.—For any fiscal 4 year after the expiration of the period specified in 5 paragraph (1), a State or unit of local government 6 that fails to comply with subsection (a), shall, at the 7 discretion of the Attorney General, be subject to not 8 more than a 20-percent reduction of the funds that 9 would otherwise be allocated for that fiscal year to 10 the State or unit of local government under subpart 11 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 12 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et 13 seq.), whether characterized as the Edward Byrne 14 Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assist- 15 ance Programs, the Local Government Law Enforce- 16 ment Block Grants Program, the Edward Byrne Me- 17 morial Justice Assistance Grant Program, or other- 18 wise. 19 (e) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated under a 20 program referred to in subsection (b)(2) to a State or unit 21 of local government for failure to fully comply with sub- 22 section (a) shall be reallocated under that program to 23 States and units of local government that have not failed 24 to comply with such subsection. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1159 IH (f) EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES.—For purposes of 1 subsection (a)(4), the Attorney General shall maintain a 2 list of evidence-based practices it determines is successful 3 in enhancing de-escalation skills of law enforcement offi- 4 cers. The Attorney General shall regularly update this list 5 as needed and shall publish the list to the public on a year- 6 ly basis. 7 SEC. 3. DATA COLLECTION. 8 The Attorney General shall collect data on efforts un- 9 dertaken by Federal fund recipients to enhance de-esca- 10 lation training for law enforcement officers. 11 SEC. 4. AFFIRMATIVE DUTY TO USE DE-ESCALATION TAC- 12 TICS WHEN AVAILABLE. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a State or unit of 14 local government that received a grant award under sub- 15 part 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 16 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), 17 if that State or unit of local government fails by the end 18 of a fiscal year to enact or have in effect laws, policies, 19 or procedures that sets forth an affirmative duty on a law 20 enforcement officer of that State or unit of local govern- 21 ment, whenever possible, to employ de-escalation tech- 22 niques in which the officer has received training required 23 under section 2(a), the Attorney General shall reduce the 24 amount that would otherwise be awarded to that State or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1159 IH unit of local government under such grant program in the 1 following fiscal year by 15 percent. 2 (b) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated under a 3 program referred to in subsection (a) to a State or unit 4 of local government for failure to be in compliance with 5 this section shall be reallocated under that program to 6 States and units of local government that are in compli- 7 ance with this section. 8 SEC. 5. ATTORNEY GENERAL GUIDANCE. 9 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 10 of this Act, the Attorney General shall issue guidance, for 11 the benefit of States and units of local government, on 12 compliance with the requirements of this Act. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1159.IH H1159 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS