Deadly Force Independent Review Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7310 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7310

To establish protocols for the investigation of uses of deadly force by 
       Federal law enforcement officers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 2, 2026

  Mr. Cohen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish protocols for the investigation of uses of deadly force by 
       Federal law enforcement officers, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Deadly Force Independent Review Act 
of 2026''.

SEC. 2. PROTOCOL FOR INVESTIGATION OF USE OF DEADLY FORCE BY FEDERAL 
              LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.

    Each Federal law enforcement agency shall establish a protocol for 
investigating any use of deadly force and shall commence such an 
investigation on each occasion that an officer of that agency uses 
deadly force. Such protocol shall include a requirement that requires 
that all evidence collected shall be made available to the appropriate 
State and local authorities.

SEC. 3. ROLE OF INSPECTORS GENERAL.

    (a) Review of Agency Investigations.--If the investigation is not 
conducted by the inspector general for that agency then the inspector 
general shall conduct an independent review of the findings to verify 
that the investigation was sufficiently thorough, complied with the 
protocols, and that the findings were adequately supported by the 
evidence. If the investigation uncovers any wrongdoing, the findings 
will be reported to proper authorities for appropriate disciplinary 
action, including prosecution in the case of any criminal activity.
    (b) Council To Establish Uniform Procedures.--The Council of 
Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency shall establish a 
uniform, Governmentwide methodology for the reporting of any incident 
regarding the use of deadly force by an officer of a Federal law 
enforcement agency and develop uniform, Governmentwide guidelines for 
the investigation of such uses of deadly force.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    (a) In General.--The Council of Inspectors General shall submit a 
report each calendar quarter including a description of all instances 
of the use of deadly force by an officer of a Federal law enforcement 
agency, including any referrals for criminal prosecution, to--
            (1) the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (2) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
        Affairs of the Senate;
            (3) the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and of 
        the House of Representatives; and
            (4) the Comptroller General of the United States.
    (b) Data Collection.--The data collected and reported on under 
subsection (a) shall--
            (1) include identifying characteristics of the person who 
        was the target of the use of deadly force and the officer who 
        used deadly force, including--
                    (A) race or ethnicity;
                    (B) gender;
                    (C) approximate age; and
                    (D) the actual or perceived religious affiliation;
            (2) include the date, time, and location of such use of 
        deadly force;
            (3) include the alleged criminal activity of the person who 
        was the target of the use of deadly force;
            (4) include the nature of the deadly force used, including 
        the use of a firearm;
            (5) include an explanation, if any, from the relevant law 
        enforcement agency on why deadly force was used;
            (6) include a copy of any use of deadly force guidelines in 
        effect at the relevant law enforcement agency at the time 
        deadly force was used;
            (7) include a description of any non-lethal efforts 
        employed to apprehend or subdue the person who was the target 
        of the use of deadly force before deadly force was used; and
            (8) not include personally identifiable information 
        described in section 5.

SEC. 5. LIMITATIONS ON PUBLICATION OF DATA.

    The name or identifying information of a law enforcement officer, 
person who was the target of the use of deadly force, or any other 
individual involved in any activity for which data is collected and 
compiled under this Act shall not be--
            (1) released to the public;
            (2) disclosed to any person, except for--
                    (A) such disclosures as are necessary to comply 
                with this Act;
                    (B) disclosures of information regarding a 
                particular person to that person; or
                    (C) disclosures pursuant to litigation; or
            (3) subject to disclosure under section 552 of title 5, 
        United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of 
        Information Act), except for disclosures of information 
        regarding a particular person to that person.
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