[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4209 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4209

  To temporarily deny Federal assistance to the City of Gretna Police 
  Department, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, and the Crescent 
 City Connection Division Police Department in the State of Louisiana 
for their maltreatment of individuals seeking aid during the Hurricane 
                Katrina crisis, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 2, 2005

 Ms. McKinney introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To temporarily deny Federal assistance to the City of Gretna Police 
  Department, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, and the Crescent 
 City Connection Division Police Department in the State of Louisiana 
for their maltreatment of individuals seeking aid during the Hurricane 
                Katrina crisis, 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. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) American law enforcement has a fundamental duty to 
        provide compassion, aid, 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) During the period of August 26 through September 2, 
        2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the gulf area, including the 
        cities of New Orleans and Gretna, Louisiana, and left thousands 
        of individuals in danger of death and immense suffering.
            (4) On or about September 1, 2005, New Orleans authorities 
        directed a group of individuals to evacuate New Orleans by 
        crossing the Crescent City Connection Bridge, which spans the 
        Mississippi River and links New Orleans to the west bank of 
        Gretna.
            (5) Following these directions, the individuals, by all 
        accounts an orderly group of men, women, and children, began 
        their dangerous trek through streets flooded with contaminated 
        water and littered with debris and corpses in an effort to 
        reach safety.
            (6) As the group approached the bridge, shots were fired, 
        and members of the Gretna law enforcement agencies confronted, 
        threatened, and pointed their weapons at the group, thus 
        preventing the group's entrance into the Gretna area.
            (7) It is unacceptable to permit anything but the strongest 
        response to the actions of the Gretna law enforcement agencies, 
        which prevented the group's lawful exodus from a life-
        threatening situation.
            (8) The behavior and silence of members of the Gretna law 
        enforcement agencies are a disgrace to the efforts of law 
        enforcement agencies throughout the United States and shall not 
        be tolerated.
            (9) Since there is no dispute that members of each entity 
        of the Gretna law enforcement agencies referred to in section 4 
        were present during the events described in this section, each 
        such entity should be equally held accountable, regardless of 
        which members actually fired shots or ordered the group to turn 
        back.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the dishonorable actions referred 
to in section 1 should be recorded and condemned.

SEC. 3. INELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--During the 1-year period beginning on the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Gretna law enforcement agencies 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 the Gretna law 
enforcement agencies shall be suspended.
    (c) Equipment.--Gretna law enforcement agencies shall immediately 
return all Federally-owned equipment in the possession or use of the 
Gretna law enforcement agencies to the appropriate Federal agency .

SEC. 4. GRETNA LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``Gretna law enforcement agencies'' means the 
following entities in the State of Louisiana:
            (1) The City of Gretna Police Department.
            (2) The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.
            (3) The Crescent City Connection Division Police 
        Department.
                                 <all>