[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6456 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6456

  To direct the National Institute of Justice to collect, study, and 
analyze data on incidents in which children have been seriously harmed 
or killed by law enforcement officers who were acting in their capacity 
                      as law enforcement officers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 17, 2023

   Ms. Waters (for herself, Mrs. McBath, Ms. Adams, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. 
    Bowman, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Carson, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mrs. 
 Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Evans, 
 Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Ivey, Mr. 
Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms. 
 Lee of California, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Ms. Norton, Ms. Pressley, 
Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Williams of Georgia, and 
    Ms. Wilson of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the National Institute of Justice to collect, study, and 
analyze data on incidents in which children have been seriously harmed 
or killed by law enforcement officers who were acting in their capacity 
                      as law enforcement officers.

    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 ``Confronting Police Violence Against 
Children Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The duty of American law enforcement is to uphold the 
        law and to serve and protect the public.
            (2) Many law enforcement officers are dedicated to public 
        service and perform their duties diligently and responsibly, 
        creating safer communities.
            (3) There have been multiple reports in recent years of 
        children being seriously harmed or killed by law enforcement 
        officers who were acting in their capacity as law enforcement 
        officers.
            (4) In 2014, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by 
        a law enforcement officer in Ohio within seconds of the officer 
        arriving on the scene.
            (5) In 2017, 17-year-old Armando Garcia-Muro was shot and 
        killed by a ricocheting bullet, which was fired by a law 
        enforcement officer at a dog in California.
            (6) In 2018, 16-year-old Anthony Jacob ``AJ'' Weber was 
        shot and killed by a law enforcement officer in California who 
        fired several shots into his upper body.
            (7) In 2020, 16-year-old Eric Parsa, who had autism, died 
        in Louisiana after being restrained face down on the pavement 
        for over 9 minutes by multiple law enforcement officers, one of 
        whom put him in a choke hold, while Parsa was experiencing a 
        mental health crisis.
            (8) In 2020, 13-year-old Linden Cameron, who has Asperger's 
        Syndrome, was shot by a law enforcement officer in Utah while 
        experiencing a mental health crisis, after his mother dialed 
        911 for help.
            (9) In 2021, 1-year-old Legend Smalls was shot in the head 
        by a law enforcement officer in Texas after the officer opened 
        fire on a suspect who allegedly attempted to steal the vehicle 
        in which Smalls was seated.
            (10) In 2021, 13-year-old Adam Toledo was fatally shot by a 
        law enforcement officer in Illinois while his hands were in the 
        air.
            (11) In 2021, 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta was 
        shot and killed by a law enforcement officer in California.
            (12) In 2022, a 13-year-old boy identified as ``A.G.'' was 
        shot by a law enforcement officer in Illinois causing a major 
        spinal cord injury while his hands were in the air.
            (13) In 2023, 11-year-old Aderrien Murry was shot in the 
        chest by a law enforcement officer in Mississippi after he 
        called the police to his home for help.
            (14) In 2023, 14-year-old Jor'Dell Richardson was fatally 
        shot and killed by a law enforcement officer in Colorado. 
        Jor'Dell Richardson begged to be taken to the hospital before 
        he died.
            (15) Law enforcement officers lack the training and 
        resources necessary to effectively address issues of mental 
        health, and these issues may be more appropriately handled with 
        assistance from mental health experts and social workers.
            (16) Reports of incidents in which children are killed by 
        law enforcement officers erode the trust of the American people 
        in law enforcement officers and the agencies and systems they 
        represent, and such reports therefore undermine the ability of 
        law enforcement officers and agencies to carry out their 
        mission of protecting the public.
            (17) A thorough investigation of the circumstances 
        surrounding incidents of children being seriously harmed or 
        killed by law enforcement officers would help policymakers 
        enact policies to address these tragic incidents of violence in 
        order to protect children and improve the effectiveness of law 
        enforcement.

SEC. 3. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the enactment of this 
Act, the Director of the National Institute of Justice shall prepare 
and submit a report to Congress studying incidents in which children 
were seriously harmed or killed by Federal, State, Tribal, or local law 
enforcement officers who were acting in their official capacity as law 
enforcement officers (whether or not the officer was on duty) during 
the 15-year period prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Required Review.--In preparing the report required under this 
section, the Director shall, at a minimum, review and include in the 
report the following:
            (1) Demographic data and analysis pertaining to--
                    (A) the age of the victims;
                    (B) the race and ethnicity of the victims;
                    (C) the gender of the victims; and
                    (D) the socioeconomic status of the victims.
            (2) Information and analysis pertaining to--
                    (A) whether the officers who were responsible for 
                each incident of serious harm or death were affiliated 
                with Federal, State, Tribal, or local law enforcement 
                agencies;
                    (B) the rank, years of experience, and amount of 
                training the officers had at the time of the incidents;
                    (C) whether the incidents occurred in urban, 
                suburban, rural, or tribal locations;
                    (D) the circumstances surrounding the incidents;
                    (E) the seriousness of the harm suffered by the 
                victims, including the extent to which the harm was 
                fatal;
                    (F) whether the victims had developmental, 
                physical, or mental disabilities at the time of the 
                incidents;
                    (G) whether the victims were experiencing a mental 
                health crisis at the time of the incidents;
                    (H) the presence and use of recording devices by 
                the law enforcement officers during the incidents;
                    (I) the presence and use of recording devices by 
                bystanders during the incidents;
                    (J) whether the incidents involved harm to or the 
                death of other individuals, including other law 
                enforcement officers, associates of the child, or 
                members of the public, and if so, whose actions 
                directly led to the additional deaths or harm;
                    (K) reports of excessive force having been used by 
                the law enforcement officers prior to the incidents;
                    (L) whether the use of force by the law enforcement 
                officers was determined to be justified and 
                proportional, on what basis any such determination was 
                made, and by whom; and
                    (M) the consequences faced by the law enforcement 
                officers who were responsible for the harm or death.
    (c) Required Consultation.--In preparing the report required under 
this section, the Director shall meet with, and consider any facts and 
analyses offered by, prosecutors, defense attorneys, family attorneys, 
judges, medical experts, non-profit organizations, victims service 
providers, culturally specific organizations, Federal, State, Tribal, 
and local courts, Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement 
agencies, State and local elected officials, and individuals with 
academic expertise in the study of law enforcement.
    (d) Findings and Recommendations.--The Director shall include in 
the report required under this section recommendations regarding--
            (1) best practices or guidelines for law enforcement 
        agencies to adopt in order to prevent the excessive use of 
        force by law enforcement officers and protect children from the 
        excessive use of force;
            (2) the best practices to train and equip law enforcement 
        officers to handle situations involving children, including--
                    (A) children with physical and mental disabilities; 
                and
                    (B) children experiencing mental health crises;
            (3) best practices to ensure that children described in 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) receive help from 
        qualified professionals who are equipped to deescalate 
        situations and provide the proper resources to families; and
            (4) Federal legislation to prevent the excessive use of 
        force by law enforcement officers and protect children from the 
        excessive use of force.
    (e) Definition.--In this section, the term ``child'' means an 
individual who is under 18 years of age.
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