Authored by Lex Scott- Black Lives Matter Utah- United Front Civil Rights
Organization
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
AN ACT
To regulate the use of force by United States Police

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. Short title.
This Act may be cited as the Police Accountability and Transparency Act
Not later than 1 year after the passing of this bill will the Attorney General of the United States enforce
this act as law.

SEC. 2. Findings and purpose.
(a) Findings.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Ethnic minorities in the United States have been subject to police profiling, and excessive
force for decades. United States Police have history and pattern of persistent, widespread, and pervasive
discrimination against ethnic minorities.
(2) Implicit biases among police officers have caused them to profile people of color in the
United States. This profiling has led to the mass incarceration of black and brown people.
(3) People of color have been, and are currently subjected to excessive force by police officers,
with little to no repercussions for those officers.
(4) In instances where an officer involved shooting has occurred, police are subjected to little or
no oversight. Police departments, and police officers are usually investigated by their own departments, or
by another police agency. This is a conflict of interest.
(5) There is no fluidity to the regulation; or requirements of police dash cameras, or officer worn
body cameras. Due to the lack of fluidity and regulations, some departments lack this equipment. Other
departments and officers receive no penalties or repercussions for turning off their dash cams or body
cameras during critical incidents.
(6) There is no fluidity in the regulation of body cam footage. Due to the lack of regulation and
fluidity, critical body camera footage is often withheld from the public. This leads to a lack of
transparency and accountability of the police. Police are not liable for distributing the footage which also
leads to the distrust of the public.
(7) There is no current legislation that states that police officers who are fired from one police
department: for misconduct, are unable to gain employment at another police department. This is not the
case in any of the military branches and should also not be the case for United States police officers.
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 Authored by Lex Scott- Black Lives Matter Utah- United Front Civil Rights
Organization
(8) The definition of excessive force differs from state to state, from police department to police
department. This causes a lack in accountability, and fluidity, which also leads to a distrust in policing.
(9) There is no fluidity to the regulation of deadly force by police officers. Due to the fact that
police officers claim that their lives are in danger, they are not having to prove that in court. They are
using deadly force when it is not needed.
(10) Data collection and distribution by police departments is not regulated. This leads to a lack
of information for and against the implicit biases of police departments and officers. Tracking the age,
race, and gender of those who are pulled over and arrested would paint a clear picture of profiling by
police. Yet police are not tracking this info, and when this info is tracked, it is often not distributed
widely.

SEC. 3. DATA COLLECTI0ON AND DISTRIBUTION

DATA COLLECTION
(a)
National Policing Statistics Program.—Beginning not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, pursuant to the authority under
section 302 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.
3732), Each police chief in this nation will provide the Director of the Department of
Justice, the following information which shall include in the National Police Statistics
Program. the following:
(1) The number of arrests by their police department each year for the last ten years,
including the age, race, and gender of the arrestee.
(2) The racial makeup of the arresting officer/officers.
(3) The racial makeup of their police department as a whole.
(4) The types of arrests; broken down by violent, or non-violent. Also categorized by the
exact classification of the crime committed.
(5) The number of patrol officers within their departments
(6) The amount of officer involved shootings within each given year.
(7) The amount of arrests which resulted in use of force.
(8) The amount of officer involved deaths which occurred within the department’s
jurisdiction.
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 Authored by Lex Scott- Black Lives Matter Utah- United Front Civil Rights
Organization

(9) Not later than 1 year after the conclusion of the pilot programs, the Attorney General shall report
to Congress on the results of the

SEC. 4. IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING AND DIVERSITY TRAINING FOR POLICE

(a)
All police officers will be given implicit bias training and diversity training while
in their respective police academies.
(b)
All police officers will receive continuing implicit bias training and diversity
training, for each year that they are in active duty on the police force.
(c)
Each officer including administrative staff, will receive at least 6 hours of implicit
bias training, and diversity training each year.
SEC. 5. USE OF DEADLY FORCE BY POLICE OFFICERS IN THE LINE OF DUTY
(a)
Deadly force must not be used solely to prevent the escape of a fleeing suspect.
(b)
Firearms must not be used solely to disable moving vehicles.
(c)
If feasible and if to do so would not increase the danger to officers or others, a
verbal warning to submit to the authority of the officer shall be given prior to the use of
force
(d)
Warning shots will not be permitted
(e)
Officers will be trained in alternative methods such as de-escalation training, and
tactics for handling and restricting subjects which must be used the when use of deadly
force is not authorized
(f)
Officers must not discharge their weapons simply because they fear for their lives.
SEC.6. OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING OVERSIGHT
(a)
In the event of an officer involved shooting, an independent agency must be
called to the scene to investigate the shooting. This agency must not consist of current or
former police officers. This agency must conduct a thorough and unbiased investigation
of the shooting, the officer, and the suspect.
(b)
Police agencies will not be allowed to investigate other police agencies, as this
presents a conflict of interest.
(c)
Officers who have been involved in officer involved shootings, will ensure that
the subject of their shooting receives proper medical care immediately after the shooting.
(d)
Suspects who have been shot by police are not to be handcuffed after they have
been shot. Medical care, such as CPR and life saving techniques will be immediately
administered directly after the shooting.
SEC. 7. DE-ESCALATION TRAINING
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 Authored by Lex Scott- Black Lives Matter Utah- United Front Civil Rights
Organization

Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General
shall incorporate into training programs provided to officers which specialize in and provide
comprehensive training in procedures to—
(1) De-escalate encounters between law enforcement officers, and civilians or prisoners.
(2) Identify and appropriately respond to incidents that involve the unique needs of individuals
who have a mental illness or cognitive deficit.

SEC.8. BODY CAMERAS AND DASH CAMERA REGULATION
(A)
Every patrol car will be required to host a dash camera, which will have the
ability to film police interactions.
(B)
Every patrol officer will be required to wear a body worn camera at all times,
while on patrol.
(C)
Body cameras must be activated in every instance when an officer is addressing a
civilian.
(D)
Body cameras are not to be turned off by patrol officers; when they are in contact
with a civilian.

SEC. 9 .BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE REGULATION
(A) Officers shall not be granted the ability to view or edit their own body camera
footage.
(B) Officers shall upload all body camera footage daily to a private server in which
that officer does not have access to.
(C) Tampering with body camera footage will have the same repercussions as
tampering with evidence.
(D) All body camera footage will be released to the public, within ten days of every
officer involved shooting.
(E) All body camera footage that is released, will be released to the public; unedited
with sound.
SEC. 10. OFFICERS FIRED FOR POLICE MISCONDUCT
(a) Police officers who have been fired by a police department for misconduct, will
not be permitted to be hired by any other police agencies.

SEC. 11. EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE BY POLICE OFFICERS
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 Authored by Lex Scott- Black Lives Matter Utah- United Front Civil Rights
Organization

(a)

Police officers must not fire their weapons upon unarmed citizens, or suspects.

Taken from California AB-392
(b)

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: That the authority to use physical
force, conferred on peace officers by this section, is a serious responsibility that shall be exercised
judiciously and with respect for human rights and dignity and for the sanctity of every human life.
The Legislature further finds and declares that every person has a right to be free from excessive
use of force by officers acting under color of law.
(c)
That individuals with physical, mental health, developmental, or intellectual disabilities
are significantly more likely to experience greater levels of physical force during police
interactions, as their disability may affect their ability to understand or comply with commands
from peace officers. It is estimated that individuals with disabilities are involved in between onethird and one-half of all fatal encounters with law enforcement.

Some excerpts have been taken from the Equality Act
The California Bill AB-392
And the Use of Force Policy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

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