[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6456 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6456
To direct the National Institute of Justice to collect, study, and
analyze data on incidents in which children have been seriously harmed
or killed by law enforcement officers who were acting in their capacity
as law enforcement officers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 17, 2023
Ms. Waters (for herself, Mrs. McBath, Ms. Adams, Mrs. Beatty, Mr.
Bowman, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Carson, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mrs.
Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Evans,
Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Ivey, Mr.
Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms.
Lee of California, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Ms. Norton, Ms. Pressley,
Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Williams of Georgia, and
Ms. Wilson of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the National Institute of Justice to collect, study, and
analyze data on incidents in which children have been seriously harmed
or killed by law enforcement officers who were acting in their capacity
as law enforcement officers.
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 ``Confronting Police Violence Against
Children Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The duty of American law enforcement is to uphold the
law and to serve and protect the public.
(2) Many law enforcement officers are dedicated to public
service and perform their duties diligently and responsibly,
creating safer communities.
(3) There have been multiple reports in recent years of
children being seriously harmed or killed by law enforcement
officers who were acting in their capacity as law enforcement
officers.
(4) In 2014, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by
a law enforcement officer in Ohio within seconds of the officer
arriving on the scene.
(5) In 2017, 17-year-old Armando Garcia-Muro was shot and
killed by a ricocheting bullet, which was fired by a law
enforcement officer at a dog in California.
(6) In 2018, 16-year-old Anthony Jacob ``AJ'' Weber was
shot and killed by a law enforcement officer in California who
fired several shots into his upper body.
(7) In 2020, 16-year-old Eric Parsa, who had autism, died
in Louisiana after being restrained face down on the pavement
for over 9 minutes by multiple law enforcement officers, one of
whom put him in a choke hold, while Parsa was experiencing a
mental health crisis.
(8) In 2020, 13-year-old Linden Cameron, who has Asperger's
Syndrome, was shot by a law enforcement officer in Utah while
experiencing a mental health crisis, after his mother dialed
911 for help.
(9) In 2021, 1-year-old Legend Smalls was shot in the head
by a law enforcement officer in Texas after the officer opened
fire on a suspect who allegedly attempted to steal the vehicle
in which Smalls was seated.
(10) In 2021, 13-year-old Adam Toledo was fatally shot by a
law enforcement officer in Illinois while his hands were in the
air.
(11) In 2021, 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta was
shot and killed by a law enforcement officer in California.
(12) In 2022, a 13-year-old boy identified as ``A.G.'' was
shot by a law enforcement officer in Illinois causing a major
spinal cord injury while his hands were in the air.
(13) In 2023, 11-year-old Aderrien Murry was shot in the
chest by a law enforcement officer in Mississippi after he
called the police to his home for help.
(14) In 2023, 14-year-old Jor'Dell Richardson was fatally
shot and killed by a law enforcement officer in Colorado.
Jor'Dell Richardson begged to be taken to the hospital before
he died.
(15) Law enforcement officers lack the training and
resources necessary to effectively address issues of mental
health, and these issues may be more appropriately handled with
assistance from mental health experts and social workers.
(16) Reports of incidents in which children are killed by
law enforcement officers erode the trust of the American people
in law enforcement officers and the agencies and systems they
represent, and such reports therefore undermine the ability of
law enforcement officers and agencies to carry out their
mission of protecting the public.
(17) A thorough investigation of the circumstances
surrounding incidents of children being seriously harmed or
killed by law enforcement officers would help policymakers
enact policies to address these tragic incidents of violence in
order to protect children and improve the effectiveness of law
enforcement.
SEC. 3. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the enactment of this
Act, the Director of the National Institute of Justice shall prepare
and submit a report to Congress studying incidents in which children
were seriously harmed or killed by Federal, State, Tribal, or local law
enforcement officers who were acting in their official capacity as law
enforcement officers (whether or not the officer was on duty) during
the 15-year period prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) Required Review.--In preparing the report required under this
section, the Director shall, at a minimum, review and include in the
report the following:
(1) Demographic data and analysis pertaining to--
(A) the age of the victims;
(B) the race and ethnicity of the victims;
(C) the gender of the victims; and
(D) the socioeconomic status of the victims.
(2) Information and analysis pertaining to--
(A) whether the officers who were responsible for
each incident of serious harm or death were affiliated
with Federal, State, Tribal, or local law enforcement
agencies;
(B) the rank, years of experience, and amount of
training the officers had at the time of the incidents;
(C) whether the incidents occurred in urban,
suburban, rural, or tribal locations;
(D) the circumstances surrounding the incidents;
(E) the seriousness of the harm suffered by the
victims, including the extent to which the harm was
fatal;
(F) whether the victims had developmental,
physical, or mental disabilities at the time of the
incidents;
(G) whether the victims were experiencing a mental
health crisis at the time of the incidents;
(H) the presence and use of recording devices by
the law enforcement officers during the incidents;
(I) the presence and use of recording devices by
bystanders during the incidents;
(J) whether the incidents involved harm to or the
death of other individuals, including other law
enforcement officers, associates of the child, or
members of the public, and if so, whose actions
directly led to the additional deaths or harm;
(K) reports of excessive force having been used by
the law enforcement officers prior to the incidents;
(L) whether the use of force by the law enforcement
officers was determined to be justified and
proportional, on what basis any such determination was
made, and by whom; and
(M) the consequences faced by the law enforcement
officers who were responsible for the harm or death.
(c) Required Consultation.--In preparing the report required under
this section, the Director shall meet with, and consider any facts and
analyses offered by, prosecutors, defense attorneys, family attorneys,
judges, medical experts, non-profit organizations, victims service
providers, culturally specific organizations, Federal, State, Tribal,
and local courts, Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement
agencies, State and local elected officials, and individuals with
academic expertise in the study of law enforcement.
(d) Findings and Recommendations.--The Director shall include in
the report required under this section recommendations regarding--
(1) best practices or guidelines for law enforcement
agencies to adopt in order to prevent the excessive use of
force by law enforcement officers and protect children from the
excessive use of force;
(2) the best practices to train and equip law enforcement
officers to handle situations involving children, including--
(A) children with physical and mental disabilities;
and
(B) children experiencing mental health crises;
(3) best practices to ensure that children described in
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) receive help from
qualified professionals who are equipped to deescalate
situations and provide the proper resources to families; and
(4) Federal legislation to prevent the excessive use of
force by law enforcement officers and protect children from the
excessive use of force.
(e) Definition.--In this section, the term ``child'' means an
individual who is under 18 years of age.
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