[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 102 (Thursday, June 15, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3551-S3552]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               PRIDE ACT

  Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the Police 
Reporting of Information Data and Evidence Act, or PRIDE Act--
legislation I introduced on Thursday, May 25, 2017. This bill would 
increase accountability and transparency for law enforcement by 
requiring States to report to the Department of Justice use of force 
incidents that occur between police officers and civilians. I am proud 
to have introduced this important bill and I want to thank Senator 
Chris Van Hollen for joining the legislation as an original cosponsor. 
I also want to thank Representative Joaquin Castro for introducing a 
House companion of the PRIDE Act.
  Across our Nation, law enforcement officers put their lives on the 
line each day to protect our communities. These individuals have 
answered the call to serve, and we owe these brave men and women our 
deepest respect and gratitude. As mayor of Newark, NJ, I saw firsthand 
the dangers police officers face each and every day. They must make 
tough, split-second decisions that have life and death consequences. 
They truly have one of the toughest jobs in America.
  We must provide law enforcement with the tools and resources they 
need to do their jobs safely and effectively. That is why I have been a 
strong advocate for robust funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance 
Grant program, Bulletproof Vest Partnership program, and the Community 
Oriented Policing Services Hiring program. These programs support law 
enforcement in their mission and help make our communities safe.
  While the vast majority of police officers serve with integrity and 
perform their duties without incident, we know that there are instances 
when officers engage in inappropriate uses of force. These cases are 
not emblematic of law enforcement as the whole; however, these 
incidents have eroded trust between law enforcement and the communities 
they are sworn to protect. This is especially the case today due to the 
number of incidents that are caught on video and shared on the 
internet. This phenomena only exacerbates the difficult job police 
officers have and fails to lend clarity to the actual number of cases 
of excessive use of force that occur nationwide.
  We must work to shore up that trust deficit and ensure that those who 
break the law and use excessive force are held accountable and those 
who rightfully uphold the law are viewed in the correct light. We must 
collect more data on use of force incidents between law enforcement and 
civilians. As former Federal Bureau of Investigations Director James 
Comey said in an address to Georgetown University, ``Without complete 
and accurate data, we are left with `ideological thunderbolts.' And 
that helps spark unrest and distrust and does not help us get better.''
  For those reasons, I introduced the PRIDE Act. This legislation would 
require States to report to the Justice Department any incident where 
use of force is used against a civilian or against a law enforcement 
officer. It would mandate the collection of certain information such as 
national origin, sex, race, ethnicity, age, physical disability, mental 
disability, English language proficiency, housing status, and school 
status of each civilian against whom law enforcement used force. It 
would require officers to record the date, time, and location of the 
incident and whether the jurisdiction allows for the open-carry or 
concealed-carry of a firearm. It would require the officer to detail 
whether the

[[Page S3552]]

civilian was armed and the type of force used and the types of weapons 
used in the incident. The bill would require the officer to explain why 
force was used, provide a description of any injuries sustained as a 
result of the incident, detail how many officers and civilians were 
involved, and provide a brief description of the circumstances 
surrounding the incident.
  The bill would create a grant program to help smaller law enforcement 
agencies--those with 100 employees or less--comply with the provisions 
of the bill. Also, it would allow those agencies to use the grant money 
to create public awareness campaigns designed to gain information 
regarding shootings and use of force incidents against police officers. 
Lastly, the legislation would allow agencies to use the funds to 
conduct use-of-force training, including deescalation and bias 
training.
  There is no excuse not to collect more data on use of force incidents 
between law enforcement officers and civilians. Shining a spotlight on 
these instances will improve police-community relations, vindicate 
wrongly accused law enforcement officers, and provide lawmakers with 
the information they need to devise smart and effective policy. I am 
proud to have introduced the PRIDE Act, and I urge its speedy passage.

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