Local Law Enforcement

Recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, Staten Island, New York, and around the country have prompted new legislation relating to the relationship between local law enforcement and the communities they protect. We are highlighting some of the responses from our elected officials in Washington, DC, and proposed bills. Share your voice on POPVOX. (Get step-by-step instructions on using the new POPVOX.)

The President's Response

Earlier this month, a grand jury in Staten Island decided not to bring criminal charges against police officers involved in the death of Eric Garner. In response to the grand jury and events in Ferguson, President Obama addressed what he called "the concern on the part of too many minority communities that law enforcement is not working with them and dealing with them in a fair way."

I want everybody to understand that this week, in the wake of Ferguson, we initiated a task force whose job it is to come back to me with specific recommendations about how we strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and communities of color and minority communities that feel that bias is taking place; that we are going to take specific steps to improve the training and the work with state and local governments when it comes to policing in communities of color; that we are going to be scrupulous in investigating cases where we are concerned about the impartiality and accountability that’s taking place."

The Administration also released a review of Federal Support for Local Law Enforcement Equipment Acquisition, which provides details on the programs that have expanded over decades across multiple federal agencies that support the acquisition of equipment from the federal government to local law enforcement agencies. (Read the report.) The President, via Executive Order, created a Task Force on 21st Century Policing to examine how to promote effective crime reduction while building public trust. The Administration also proposed a $75 million investment over three years to help local law enforcement purchase 50,000 body worn cameras.

In August, President Obama announced that the Justice Department has opened an independent federal civil rights investigation into the death of Michael Brown: "They are on the ground and, along with the FBI, they are devoting substantial resources to that investigation."

Congress's Response

This week, Reps. Elijah Cummings, John Conyers and Bennie Thompson, Ranking Members of the House Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, the Judiciary, and Homeland Security respectively, requested a series of in-depth hearings to examine issues raised by the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and others:

We firmly believe that events in Staten Island, New York, Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere have fractured the trust of Americans in the integrity of the criminal justice system. The Federal government has a critical role to play in ensuring that all Americans are treated equally before the law, especially by their local police, and it is our responsibility to exercise oversight of the funding and resources that the Federal government allocates to these local jurisdictions.  Hearings into these topics will be important early steps on the long road of healing across the country.”

De-Militarizing Local Law Enforcement

As protests continue in Ferguson, Missouri and across the country in response to the death of 18-year old Michael Brown on Aug. 9th, it has also brought into question local law enforcement's use of military equipment.  

In October, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) visited Ferguson to speak with civil rights leaders. During his visit, he stated his concerns about long prison sentences for nonviolent crimes and military programs to give unused equipment to local police departments. Senator Paul wrote:

Washington has incentivized the militarization of local police precincts by using federal dollars to help municipal governments build what are essentially small armies—where police departments compete to acquire military gear that goes far beyond what most of Americans think of as law enforcement." (Read his piece in Time.)

While Senator Paul hasn’t introduced a bill related to de-militarizing local law enforcement, a bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA):

Related Bills

• Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act (HR 5478)

  –Bipartisan– Would "end the free transfers of certain aggressive military equipment to local law enforcement and ensure that all equipment can be accounted for," according to the bill sponsor, Rep. Henry "Hank" Johnson (D-GA). The bill targets a Pentagon surplus program that transfers military equipment like mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles to local governments, including MRAPs (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles.

  A "Dear Colleague" letter from Rep. Johnson stated: "Our main streets should be a place for business, families, and relaxation, not tanks and M16s. Unfortunately, due to a Department of Defense (DOD) Program that transfers surplus DOD equipment to state and local law enforcement, our local police are quickly beginning to resemble paramilitary forces."

• HR 5831 

  To provide a penalty for violent crimes by certain State or local law enforcement officers.

• Grand Jury Reform Act (HR 5830)

  To provide that in the case of a law enforcement officer who uses deadly force against a person, and thereby causes the death of that person, a hearing shall be conducted before a judge to determine whether there is probable cause for the State to bring criminal charges against the law enforcement officer relating to the death of the person. "Would require the appointment of a special prosecutor charged with conducting a probable cause hearing, open to the public, when reasonable grounds exist to believe that criminal charges should be considered (a crime was committed) by the officer/s involved," according to the bill sponsor.

• HR 5866 

  To require the Attorney General to issue rules pertaining to the collection and compilation of data on the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers.

• Camera Authorization and Maintenance Act (HR 5865)

  To establish a grant program providing for the acquisition, operation, and maintenance of body-worn cameras for law enforcement officers.

• Regulatory Agency De-militarization (RAD) Act (HR 4934)

  –Bipartisan– To prohibit certain Federal agencies from using or purchasing certain firearms. "In recent years, numerous federal regulatory agencies – including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Food and Drug Agency and the Department of Education – have created their own special law enforcement teams to conduct their own arrests and raids. This is in part a product of the 2002 Homeland Security Act, which gave most Offices of Inspector General arrest and firearm authority," according to the bill sponsor, Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT).

• End Racial Profiling Act (HR 2851)

  (Also S 1038 in the Senate.) According to bill sponsors, it provides a prohibition on racial profiling, enforceable by declaratory or injunctive relief; and mandates training on racial profiling issues as part of Federal law enforcement training, the collection of data on all routine or spontaneous investigatory activities that is to be submitted through a standardized form to the Department of Justice. The receipt of federal law enforcement and other funds that go to state and local governments is conditioned on their adoption of effective policies that prohibit racial profiling.

• Shield Our Streets Act (HR 3069)

  Authorizes the Attorney General to carry out a program, through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, to award grants to assist eligible local law enforcement agencies with hiring and training new law enforcement officers and with rehiring career law enforcement officers who have been laid off as a result of budget reductions.

— Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn't imply a POPVOX endorsement in any way. Rather, we're simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of an overwhelmingly complex legislative system. —