Police Training and Independent Review Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1337 To provide for grants for States that require sensitivity training for law enforcement officers of that State and to incentivize States to enact laws requiring the independent investigation and prosecution of the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 25, 2021 Mr. COHEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide for grants for States that require sensitivity train- ing for law enforcement officers of that State and to incentivize States to enact laws requiring the independent investigation and prosecution of the use of deadly force by law enforcement 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Police Training and 4 Independent Review Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1337.IH H1337 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1337 IH SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR TRAINING AND SENSITIVITY AND THE 1 USE OF INDEPENDENT PROSECUTORS. 2 Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 3 Streets Act of 1968 (et seq.) is amended by adding at the 4 end the following: 5 ‘‘PART NN—GRANTS FOR TRAINING AND 6 INDEPENDENT PROSECUTION 7 ‘‘SEC. 3041. IN GENERAL. 8 ‘‘The Attorney General may make a grant to a State 9 each fiscal year for purposes of carrying out the require- 10 ments of section 3042(a) and 3043. The term of such 11 grant shall be 1 year. 12 ‘‘SEC. 3042. TRAINING ON DIVERSITY AND SENSITIVITY FOR 13 LAW ENFORCEMENT. 14 ‘‘(a) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—The requirements 15 of this subsection are as follows: 16 ‘‘(1) A State shall require that all individuals 17 enrolled in an academy of a law enforcement agency 18 of the State and all law enforcement officers of the 19 State fulfill a training session on sensitivity each fis- 20 cal year, including training on ethnic and racial bias, 21 cultural diversity, and police interaction with the dis- 22 abled, mentally ill, and new immigrants. In the case 23 of individuals attending an academy, such training 24 session shall be for 8 hours, and in the case of all 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1337.IH H1337 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1337 IH other law enforcement officers, the training session 1 shall be for 4 hours. 2 ‘‘(2) A State shall certify to the Attorney Gen- 3 eral of the United States that such training sessions 4 have been completed. 5 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE AND INELIGIBILITY.— 6 ‘‘(1) COMPLIANCE DATE.—The period specified 7 under this paragraph is the period beginning 120 8 days after the date of enactment of this part, to 9 comply with subsection (a), except that— 10 ‘‘(A) the Attorney General may grant an 11 additional 120 days to a State that is making 12 good faith efforts to comply with such sub- 13 section; and 14 ‘‘(B) the Attorney General shall waive the 15 requirements of subsection (a) if compliance 16 with such subsection by a State would be un- 17 constitutional under the constitution of such 18 State. 19 ‘‘(2) INELIGIBILITY.—A State that is not in 20 compliance with the requirements of subsection (a) 21 during a fiscal year is not eligible for a grant under 22 this part. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1337.IH H1337 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1337 IH ‘‘SEC. 3043. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF LAW ENFORCEMENT 1 USE OF DEADLY FORCE. 2 ‘‘In the case of a State that fails by the end of a 3 fiscal year to enact or have in effect an independent pros- 4 ecution of law enforcement law, that State is not eligible 5 for a grant under this part. 6 ‘‘SEC. 3044. DEFINITIONS. 7 ‘‘In this part: 8 ‘‘(1) The term ‘deadly force’ means that force 9 which a reasonable person would consider likely to 10 cause death or serious bodily harm. 11 ‘‘(2) The term ‘independent prosecution of law 12 enforcement law’ means a statute requiring the ap- 13 pointment of an independent prosecutor to conduct 14 any criminal investigation and prosecution in 15 which— 16 ‘‘(A) one or more of the possible defend- 17 ants is a law enforcement officer; 18 ‘‘(B) one or more of the alleged offenses 19 involves the law enforcement officer’s use of 20 deadly force in the course of carrying out that 21 officer’s duty; and 22 ‘‘(C) the law enforcement officer’s use of 23 deadly force resulted in a death or injury. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1337.IH H1337 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1337 IH ‘‘(3) The term ‘independent prosecutor’ means, 1 with respect to a criminal investigation or prosecu- 2 tion, a prosecutor who— 3 ‘‘(A) does not live or work in the same 4 county as the county in which the alleged crime 5 was committed; and 6 ‘‘(B) would not be involved in the prosecu- 7 tion in the ordinary course of that prosecutor’s 8 duties.’’. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1337.IH H1337 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS