Preventing Tragedies Between Police and Communities Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2927 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 MAY 22, 2019 Ms. MOORE (for herself and Ms. JACKSON LEE) 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Tragedies 4 Between Police and Communities Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2927.IH H2927 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2927 IH SEC. 2. TRAINING ON DE-ESCALATION FOR LAW ENFORCE- 1 MENT. 2 (a) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—For each fiscal year 3 after the expiration of the period specified in subsection 4 (d) in which a State or unit of local government receives 5 a grant under part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con- 6 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et 7 seq.), the State or unit of local government shall require 8 that all individuals enrolled in an academy of a law en- 9 forcement agency of the State or unit of local government 10 and all law enforcement officers of the State or unit of 11 local government fulfill a training session on de-escalation 12 techniques each fiscal year, including— 13 (1) the use of alternative non-lethal methods of 14 applying force and techniques that prevent the offi- 15 cer from escalating any situation where force is like- 16 ly to be used; 17 (2) verbal and physical tactics to minimize the 18 need for the use of force, with an emphasis on com- 19 munication, negotiation, de-escalation techniques, 20 providing the time needed to resolve the incident 21 safely for everyone; 22 (3) the use of the lowest level of force that is 23 a possible and safe response to an identified threat, 24 then re-evaluating the threat as it progresses; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2927.IH H2927 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2927 IH (4) techniques that provide all officers with 1 awareness and recognition of mental health and sub- 2 stance abuse issues with an emphasis on commu- 3 nication strategies, training officers simultaneously 4 in teams on de-escalation and use of force to im- 5 prove group dynamics and diminish excessive use of 6 force during critical incidents; 7 (5) principles of using distance, cover, and time 8 when approaching and managing critical incidents, 9 and elimination of the use of concepts like the ‘‘21- 10 foot rule’’ and ‘‘drawing a line in the sand’’ in favor 11 of using distance and cover to create a ‘‘reaction 12 gap’’; 13 (6) crisis intervention strategies to appro- 14 priately identify and respond to individuals suffering 15 from mental health or substance abuse issues, with 16 an emphasis on de-escalation tactics and promoting 17 effective communication; and 18 (7) other evidence-based approaches, found to 19 be appropriate by the Attorney General, that en- 20 hance de-escalation skills and tactics, such as the 21 Critical Decision-Making Model and scenario-based 22 trainings. 23 In the case of individuals attending an academy, such 24 training session shall be for such an appropriate amount 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2927.IH H2927 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2927 IH of time as to ensure academy participants receive effective 1 training under this subsection and in the case of all other 2 law enforcement officers, the training session shall be for 3 an appropriate amount of time as to ensure officers receive 4 effective training under this subsection. The State or unit 5 of local government shall certify to the Attorney General 6 of the United States that such training sessions have been 7 completed. 8 (b) SCENARIO-BASED TRAINING.—Training de- 9 scribed in subsection (a) shall be conducted with an em- 10 phasis on training that employs theories of de-escalation 11 techniques and applies them to practical on-the-job sce- 12 narios that regularly face law enforcement officers. 13 (c) CROSS-TRAINING.—To the extent practicable, 14 principles of training as described in subsection (a) shall 15 be applied to other training conducted at the academy. 16 (d) COMPLIANCE AND INELIGIBILITY.— 17 (1) COMPLIANCE DATE.—Beginning not later 18 than 1 year after the date of this Act, each State 19 or unit of local government receiving a grant shall 20 comply with subsection (a), except that the Attorney 21 General may grant an additional 6 months to a 22 State or unit of local government that is making 23 good faith efforts to comply with such subsection. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2927.IH H2927 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 2927 IH (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDS.—For any fiscal 1 year after the expiration of the period specified in 2 paragraph (1), a State or unit of local government 3 that fails to comply with subsection (a), shall, at the 4 discretion of the Attorney General, be subject to not 5 more than a 20-percent reduction of the funds that 6 would otherwise be allocated for that fiscal year to 7 the State or unit of local government under subpart 8 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 9 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et 10 seq.), whether characterized as the Edward Byrne 11 Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assist- 12 ance Programs, the Local Government Law Enforce- 13 ment Block Grants Program, the Edward Byrne Me- 14 morial Justice Assistance Grant Program, or other- 15 wise. 16 (e) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated under a 17 program referred to in subsection (b)(2) to a State or unit 18 of local government for failure to fully comply with sub- 19 section (a) shall be reallocated under that program to 20 States and units of local government that have not failed 21 to comply with such subsection. 22 (f) EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES.—For purposes of 23 subsection (a)(4), the Attorney General shall maintain a 24 list of evidence-based practices it determines is successful 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2927.IH H2927 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 2927 IH in enhancing de-escalation skills of law enforcement offi- 1 cers. The Attorney General shall regularly update this list 2 as needed and shall publish the list to the public on a year- 3 ly basis. 4 SEC. 3. DATA COLLECTION. 5 The Attorney General shall collect data on efforts un- 6 dertaken by Federal fund recipients to enhance de-esca- 7 lation training for law enforcement officers. 8 SEC. 4. AFFIRMATIVE DUTY TO USE DE-ESCALATION TAC- 9 TICS WHEN AVAILABLE. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a State or unit of 11 local government that received a grant award under sub- 12 part 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 13 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), 14 if that State or unit of local government fails by the end 15 of a fiscal year to enact or have in effect laws, policies, 16 or procedures that sets forth an affirmative duty on a law 17 enforcement officer of that State or unit of local govern- 18 ment, whenever possible, to employ de-escalation tech- 19 niques in which the officer has received training required 20 under section 2(a), the Attorney General shall reduce the 21 amount that would otherwise be awarded to that State or 22 unit of local government under such grant program in the 23 following fiscal year by 15 percent. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2927.IH H2927 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 2927 IH (b) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated under a 1 program referred to in subsection (a) to a State or unit 2 of local government for failure to be in compliance with 3 this section shall be reallocated under that program to 4 States and units of local government that are in compli- 5 ance with this section. 6 SEC. 5. ATTORNEY GENERAL GUIDANCE. 7 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 8 of this Act, the Attorney General shall issue guidance, for 9 the benefit of States and units of local government, on 10 compliance with the requirements of this Act. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2927.IH H2927 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS