Law Enforcement Abuse Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006 - Expresses the sense of Congress that incidences of law enforcement abuse of citizens should be independently investigated, recorded, and condemned.
Renders state or local law enforcement agencies receiving assistance from the federal government ineligible for further assistance, licenses, or federally-owned equipment until such agencies establish procedures for independent oversight and review and hold police officers accountable for excessive use of force, torture, or manslaughter.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6382 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6382
To deny Federal assistance to any State or local law enforcement
agencies whose officers use excessive force or violence leading to the
death of innocent or unarmed citizens, or who fail to establish,
enforce, and follow transparent and accountable procedures that fully
protect the lives and health of citizens during surveillance,
interrogation, arrest or imprisonment from torture, excessive physical
or psychological abuse and death, and to require a system of
transparent legal and public review of such allegations and cases that
can result in the sanction, punishment, and removal of officers who
perpetrate such abuses or their superiors.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 6, 2006
Ms. McKinney introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To deny Federal assistance to any State or local law enforcement
agencies whose officers use excessive force or violence leading to the
death of innocent or unarmed citizens, or who fail to establish,
enforce, and follow transparent and accountable procedures that fully
protect the lives and health of citizens during surveillance,
interrogation, arrest or imprisonment from torture, excessive physical
or psychological abuse and death, and to require a system of
transparent legal and public review of such allegations and cases that
can result in the sanction, punishment, and removal of officers who
perpetrate such abuses or their superiors.
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 ``Law Enforcement Abuse Transparency
and Accountability Act of 2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) American law enforcement has a fundamental duty to
provide compassion, aid, and protection and safety to the
people it serves.
(2) A primary function of law enforcement is to preserve
life, regardless of the race, ethnicity, religion, social or
economic standing, sexual preference, or country of origin of
the individuals involved.
(3) Over many years, thousands of cases of State and local
law enforcement agency violations of suspects, detainees, and
prisoners went inadequately addressed across the United States,
especially in African-American communities and other
communities of color or poverty.
(4) In recent years, procedures, training, and public
oversight have failed to significantly curb or eliminate abuses
and murders of innocent suspects and citizens at the hands of
officers of the law, to fully investigate claims of excessive
use of force, or to adequately reprimand, punish, or remove
such offenders or their superiors.
(5) A special prosecutor in Chicago has been investigating
a police abuse ring that operated over three decades with
impunity, responsible for torturing over 200 African-American
males in their custody at the Area 2 and Area 3 police
headquarters.
(6) Since the 1997 New York Police Department torture of
Abner Louima, and the fatal shooting of Amadou Bailo Diallo in
1999, public and media attention concerning abuse of power and
the unjustified and improper use of force by law enforcement in
communities of color has continuously increased, as have the
number of outraged community responses and the demands for
external oversight of police practices.
(7) More recently, police in Chicago on November 25, 2006,
police officers in New York City shot 50 times and killed an
unarmed man, Sean Bell. The next day, a community rally
protested the police action and called for the removal of
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
(8) Fatal shootings and abuse of suspects and prisoners
have come to light again recently in other cities, including
Atlanta, Georgia, and DeKalb County, Georgia.
(9) Every major State and local city law enforcement agency
receives and depends on some level of Federal funding,
training, grants, or assistance, paid for primarily from the
tax revenues of the citizens being abused.
(10) The common and continuing unaccountable behavior and
silence of members of law enforcement agencies regarding these
abuses are a disgrace to the efforts of law enforcement
agencies throughout the United States and should not be
tolerated.
(11) The lack of transparency, oversight, community
involvement, independent review and investigation, and
consequences to the law enforcement violators makes continuing
abuse more likely, and must be reversed by denying Federal
funding to any law enforcement agency that fails to establish a
minimum of professional training and procedures of engagement;
that tolerates abuses or fatal use of excessive force; that
fails to operate under rules of transparency and community
oversight, investigation, and review; that fails to discipline,
remove, or otherwise hold accountable any perpetrators acting
under the color of law enforcement; or that refuses to fairly
hear each case or allegation of possible abuse or excessive use
of force by law enforcement officers, reviewed by an
established and independent forum.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the dishonorable actions referred
to in section 2 should be independently investigated, recorded, and
condemned.
SEC. 4. INELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--During the 1-year period beginning on the date of
enactment of this Act, or until transparency and accountability are
fully restored, law enforcement agencies that do not have established
procedures for independent oversight and review, or do not hold
violations by police of excessive use of force, torture, or
manslaughter accountable, shall be ineligible to participate in any
Federal program, whether by funding, assistance, contract, grant,
personnel support, or otherwise.
(b) Licenses.--During the 1-year period beginning on the date of
enactment of this Act, any Federal license issued to any such law
enforcement agencies shall be suspended, or until transparency and
accountability are fully restored.
(c) Equipment.--Law enforcement agencies identified as carrying out
abuses or wrongful deaths, without consequence or open public review or
allegations, shall immediately return all federally-owned equipment in
the possession or use of such law enforcement agencies to the
appropriate Federal agency.
SEC. 5. LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``law enforcement agencies'' means the
following entities in any State or locality within the control and
jurisdiction of the United States receiving Federal funds for training,
equipment, or other support.
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Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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