[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 589 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 589

  Establishing the Select Committee on Excessive Use of Police Force.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 13, 2016

  Mr. Rush (for himself, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Rangel, Mr. 
  Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Clay, Mr. Lewis, Mr. 
 Ellison, and Ms. Moore) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                   referred to the Committee on Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Establishing the Select Committee on Excessive Use of Police Force.

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) This past year alone we have seen 7 different incidents 
        of the unjustified use of lethal and excessive force by police 
        officers against African-Americans:
                    (A) The death of Dontre Hamilton, a 31-year-old 
                man, by a member of the Milwaukee Police Department in 
                Wisconsin on April 30, 2014.
                    (B) The death of Eric Garner, an unarmed 43-year-
                old father, by a member of the New York City Police 
                Department in New York on July 17, 2014.
                    (C) The death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old 
                unarmed teenager, by a member of the Ferguson Police 
                Department in Missouri on August 9, 2014.
                    (D) The death of Ezell Ford, an unarmed 25-year-old 
                mentally ill man by members of the Los Angeles Police 
                Department in California on August 11, 2014.
                    (E) The death of Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old 
                teenager by a member of the Chicago Police Department 
                in Illinois on October 20, 2014.
                    (F) The death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy by a 
                member of the Cleveland Division of Police in Ohio on 
                November 22, 2014.
                    (G) The death of Anthony Hill, a 27-year-old 
                unarmed Air Force veteran, by a member of the DeKalb 
                County Police Department in Georgia on March 6, 2015.
                    (H) The death of Nicholas Thomas, a 23-year-old 
                unarmed man, by a member of the Smyrna Police 
                Department in Georgia on March 24, 2015.
                    (I) The death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old 
                arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for 
                possession of an alleged illegal switchblade on April 
                12, 2015.
                    (J) The death of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old 
                African-American woman found hanged in a jail cell in 
                Waller County, Texas, on July 13, 2015.
                    (K) The death of Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old unarmed 
                man, by a member of the Minneapolis Police Department 
                in Minnesota on November 16, 2015.
            (2) From 2011 to 2015, 28,500 complaints filed against 
        Chicago Police officers resulted in no discipline in a study 
        conducted by the Invisible Institute and the Mandel legal 
        clinic of the University of Chicago law school.
            (3) These incidents and countless others are not isolated 
        but reflect a pervasive pattern of racial bias in the use of 
        excessive force in communities of color.
            (4) It is the will of the Congress that a select committee 
        be formed to investigate these patterns of excessive use of 
        force in communities of color.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

    There is hereby established in the House of Representatives the 
Select Committee on Excessive Use of Police Force (hereinafter referred 
to as the Select Committee).

SEC. 3. COMPOSITION.

    (a) Composition.--The Select Committee shall be composed of 12 
Members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, of 
whom 6 shall be appointed after consultation with the Minority Leader.
    (b) Chair and Ranking Member.--The Speaker shall designate one 
Member to serve as chair of the Select Committee, and the Minority 
Leader shall designate one Member to serve as the ranking minority 
member of the Select Committee.
    (c) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Select Committee shall be filled 
in the same manner as the original appointment.

SEC. 4. RULES AND PROCEDURES.

    Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives shall apply to 
the Select Committee in the same manner as such rule applies to a 
standing committee of the House, except to the extent inconsistent with 
this resolution.

SEC. 5. STAFF; FUNDING.

    (a) Staff.--The chair of the Select Committee, upon consultation 
with the ranking minority member of the Select Committee, may employ 
and fix the compensation of such staff as the chair considers necessary 
to carry out this resolution.
    (b) Funding.--There shall be paid out of the applicable accounts of 
the House of Representatives such sums as may be necessary for the 
expenses of the Select Committee. Such payments shall be made on 
vouchers signed by the chair of the Select Committee and approved in 
the manner directed by the Committee on House Administration. Amounts 
made available under this subsection shall be expended in accordance 
with regulations prescribed by the Committee on House Administration.

SEC. 6. RECOMMENDATIONS.

    (a) Final Report.--The Select Committee shall issue a final report 
and recommendations, including legislative proposals, not later than 60 
days after the date of the adoption of this resolution.
    (b) Interim Findings and Reports.--In addition to the final report 
and recommendations required under subsection (a), the Select Committee 
may issue such interim findings and reports as it deems necessary.

SEC. 7. TERMINATION.

    (a) In General.--The Select Committee and all authority granted in 
this resolution shall expire upon the issuance by the Select Committee 
of the final report and recommendations under section 6(a).
    (b) Records.--Upon the dissolution of the Select Committee, the 
records, files, and materials of the Select Committee shall be 
transferred to the Clerk of the House.

SEC. 8. DUTIES.

    The Select Committee is authorized and directed to conduct a full 
and complete investigation and study, and to issue a report and 
recommendations of its findings to the House, regarding each of the 
following:
            (1) A uniform definition of ``excessive use of force'' for 
        purposes of criminal prosecutions of law enforcement officers 
        who employ force against individuals suspected of criminal 
        offenses.
            (2) Creation of national guidelines on what constitutes an 
        excessive use of force by law enforcement officers interacting 
        with individuals suspected of criminal offenses.
            (3) Collection of accurate and reliable data on police 
        shootings and the use of excessive force, including use of 
        excessive force resulting in death and use of excessive force 
        not resulting in death.
            (4) Implementation and creation of a national database to 
        make available to the public data on complaints filed against 
        law enforcement officers and departments alleging excessive use 
        of force by such law enforcement officers.
            (5) Inclusion of demographic data on police officers 
        involved in shootings in the Uniform Crime Reports authorized 
        under section 534 of title 28, United States Code.
            (6) Requirement of mandatory reporting to the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation as part of the Uniform Crime Reports by 
        State and local law enforcement agencies of the number of 
        justifiable homicides committed by law enforcement officers.
            (7) Creation of effective training methods and mental 
        counseling of a law enforcement officer to understand what is 
        and is not a real threat to his or her safety and the safety of 
        others, to focus on objective criteria in the identification of 
        such threats, and to examine his or her reactions to presumed 
        threats for any latent racial bias, animus, or hostility.
            (8) Creation of adequate training, in the determination of 
        the Attorney General, for police officers dealing with mentally 
        ill persons.
            (9) Requirement by the Attorney General of transparency in 
        internal discipline and accountability in law enforcement 
        agencies.
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