Preventing the Misuse of Tear Gas Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1579 To appropriately limit the use of riot control agents. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 12, 2021 Mr. KAINE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To appropriately limit the use of riot control agents. 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 ‘‘Preventing the Misuse 4 of Tear Gas Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Riot control agents are heavily regulated on 8 the battlefield and have been banned by the inter- 9 national community under the Convention on the 10 Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stock- 11 piling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1579.IS S1579 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1579 IS Destruction, done at Geneva September 3, 1992, 1 and entered into force April 29, 1997 (commonly re- 2 ferred to as the ‘‘Chemical Weapons Convention’’). 3 (2) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 4 vention recognize that exposure to riot control 5 agents can impose both immediate and long term 6 health effects, including blindness, glaucoma, cata- 7 racts, asthma, burns, and respiratory failure possibly 8 resulting in death. 9 (3) Riot control agents cause respiratory dis- 10 tress and pose particular challenges in urban com- 11 munities, and among minority populations, where 12 incidences of respiratory illness are disproportion- 13 ately high. 14 (4) Riot control agents cause respiratory dis- 15 tress and pose significant challenges during the 16 COVID–19 pandemic due to the damage that the 17 pandemic has inflicted to respiratory systems of mil- 18 lions of people. 19 (5) If the use of riot control agents is regulated 20 on the battlefield, their indiscriminate use against ci- 21 vilian populations should not be allowed. 22 (6) Limiting the use of riot control agents to 23 stop violent behavior can be a valid strategy to de- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1579.IS S1579 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1579 IS escalate violence and avoid greater use of force by 1 law enforcement. 2 (7) In particular, riot control agents should not 3 be deployed against persons behaving peacefully. 4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this Act: 6 (1) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 7 ‘‘law enforcement officer’’— 8 (A) means any officer of the United 9 States, a State, or a unit of local government, 10 who is empowered by law to conduct investiga- 11 tions of, or make arrests because of, offenses 12 against the United States, the District of Co- 13 lumbia, a State, or a political subdivision of a 14 State; and 15 (B) includes a member of the Armed 16 Forces (including any reserve component) under 17 orders to act in a policing capacity in the 18 United States. 19 (2) RIOT CONTROL AGENT.—The term ‘‘riot 20 control agent’’— 21 (A) means any chemical that— 22 (i) is not included on any schedule of 23 chemicals contained in the Annex on 24 Chemicals of the Convention on the Prohi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1579.IS S1579 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1579 IS bition of the Development, Production, 1 Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons 2 and on their Destruction, done at Geneva 3 September 3, 1992, and entered into force 4 April 29, 1997 (commonly referred to as 5 the ‘‘Chemical Weapons Convention’’); and 6 (ii) can produce rapidly in humans 7 sensory irritation or disabling physical ef- 8 fects which disappear within a short time 9 following termination of exposure; and 10 (B) includes the chemical compounds 2- 11 chlorobenzalmalononitrile, chloroacetophenone, 12 and oleoresin capsicum. 13 (3) VIOLENT ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘violent ac- 14 tivity’’ means activity causing physical injury to per- 15 sons or serious property damage. 16 SEC. 4. USE OF FORCE STANDARD RELATED TO THE USE 17 OF RIOT CONTROL AGENTS. 18 (a) FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ON USE OF 19 FORCE POLICY REQUIREMENT.—Beginning with the first 20 fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of this 21 Act, all Federal law enforcement agencies shall have in 22 effect a clear set of policies related to the use of force 23 that clearly states that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1579.IS S1579 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1579 IS (1) the use of riot control agents or similar irri- 1 tants should be avoided wherever possible against 2 non-violent civilians and only deployed to stop vio- 3 lent activity; and 4 (2) the use of riot control agents or similar irri- 5 tants to quell violent activity should be directed in 6 way that minimizes any impact on those not partici- 7 pating in the violent activity. 8 (b) STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT USE OF 9 FORCE REQUIREMENT.—Beginning with the first fiscal 10 year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, 11 in order to be eligible to receive funds under subpart 1 12 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 13 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.) and 14 part Q of title I of such Act (34 U.S.C. 10381 et seq.), 15 a State or unit of local government shall have in effect 16 a law or policy, and be in substantial compliance with such 17 law or policy, establishing use of force standards for law 18 enforcement officers that clearly state that— 19 (1) the use of riot control agents or similar irri- 20 tants should be avoided wherever possible against 21 non-violent civilians and only deployed to stop vio- 22 lent activity; and 23 (2) the use of riot control agents or similar irri- 24 tants to quell violent activity should be directed in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1579.IS S1579 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1579 IS way that minimizes any impact on those not partici- 1 pating in the violent activity. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1579.IS S1579 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS