[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3332 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3332

        To strengthen the Federal response to police misconduct.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 21, 1993

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        To strengthen the Federal response to police misconduct.

    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 Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. PATTERN OR PRACTICE CASES.

    (a) Cause of Action.--
            (1) Unlawful conduct.--It shall be unlawful for any 
        governmental authority, or any agent thereof, or any person 
        acting on behalf of a governmental authority, to engage in a 
        pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers that 
        deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities, secured 
        or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.
            (2) Civil action by attorney general.--Whenever the 
        Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that a 
        violation of paragraph (1) has occurred, the Attorney General, 
        for or in the name of the United States, may in a civil action 
        obtain appropriate equitable and declaratory relief to 
        eliminate the pattern or practice.
            (3) Civil action by injured person.--Any person injured by 
        a violation of paragraph (1) may in a civil action obtain 
        appropriate equitable and declaratory relief to eliminate the 
        pattern or practice. In any civil action under this paragraph, 
        the court may allow the prevailing plaintiff reasonable 
        attorneys' fees and other litigation fees and costs (including 
        expert's fees). A governmental body shall be liable for such 
        fees and costs to the same extent as a private individual.
    (b) Definition.--As used in this section, the term ``law 
enforcement officer'' means an official empowered by law to conduct 
investigations of, to make arrests for, or to detain individuals 
suspected or convicted of, criminal offenses.

SEC. 3. CRIMINAL PENALTY.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 13 (relating to civil rights) of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 248. POLICE BRUTALITY.

    ``(a) Offense.--Whoever, being a law enforcement officer and under 
color of law, subjects any person to force exceeding that which is 
reasonably necessary to carry out a law enforcement duty, shall be 
punished under subsection (b).
    ``(b) Punishment.--(1) The punishment for an offense under this 
section is a fine under this title, or imprisonment under paragraph 
(2), or both.
    ``(2) The imprisonment for an offense under this section shall--
            ``(A) if death results, be for any term of years or for 
        life;
            ``(B) if bodily injury other than death results, be for not 
        more than 10 years; and
            ``(C) in any other case, not exceed one year.
    ``(c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term `law 
enforcement officer' means an official empowered by law to conduct 
investigations of, to make arrests for, or to detain individuals 
suspected or convicted of, criminal offenses.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``248. Police brutality.''.

SEC. 4. DATA ON USE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE.

    (a) Attorney General to Collect.--The Attorney General shall 
acquire and annually publish data about complaints to criminal justice 
authorities about the use of excessive force by law enforcement 
officers.
    (b) The Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report 
analyzing complaints of excessive force by local law enforcement 
authorities made to federal enforcement authorities with a breakdown--
            (1) of the racial composition of complainants,
            (2) the race of officers accused of excessive use of force, 
        and
            (3) whether federal law enforcement authorities 
        investigated, prosecuted or obtained convictions in each case.
    (b) Guidelines and Procedures.--The Attorney General shall 
establish--
            (1) guidelines for the submission of such data; and
            (2) procedures for carrying out this section.
    (c) Limitation on Use of Data.--Data acquired under this section 
shall be used only for research or statistical purposes and may not 
contain any information that may reveal the identity of the complainant 
or any individual involved in the incident giving rise to the 
complaint.
    (d) Annual Summary.--The Attorney General shall publish an annual 
summary of the data acquired under this section.
    (e) Criminal Justice Assistance Funds.--
            (1) Section 503 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
        Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3753) is amended by 
        inserting at the end of subsection (a) the following:
            ``(12) A certification that the State and its units of 
        local government are providing information to the Attorney 
        General that the Attorney General is obligated to acquire under 
        section 4 of the Police Accountability Act of 1991 regarding 
        complaints to criminal justice authorities about the use of 
        excessive force by law enforcement officers.''.
            (2) Section 503(a)(12) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
        Safe Streets Act of 1968 (as added by paragraph (1)), shall 
        apply to applications submitted on or after the date that is 
        one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

                                 <all>