[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 31 (Thursday, February 18, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E146-E147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE FEDERAL POLICE CAMERA AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 
                                  2021

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 18, 2021

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I, along with Representative Donald 
S. Beyer Jr., introduce the Federal Police Camera and Accountability 
Act of 2021. This bill would require uniformed federal law enforcement 
officers to wear body cameras and federal marked police vehicles to 
have dashboard cameras. It would also require the Government 
Accountability Office to conduct a study on federal police officers' 
training, vehicle pursuits, use of force and interaction with citizens. 
Last Congress, we introduced a virtually identical bill, which was 
included in the House-passed George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 
2020.
  After the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the urgency of 
this bill has become even more apparent. The U.S. Capitol Police tried 
to stop the mob attack, but without body cameras, we have been forced 
to rely on social media, cameras in the Capitol and public reporting to 
learn what happened. The events at Lafayette Square last year, where 
U.S. Park Police and other federal police officers forcibly removed 
peaceful protestors so the president could hold a photo op, is another 
recent example of why our bill is needed.
  On November 17, 2017, Bijan Ghaisar was fatally shot in his car by 
uniformed U.S. Park Police officers in Fairfax County, Virginia, after 
a vehicle pursuit on the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Video of 
this shooting only became available through a camera in a Fairfax 
County Police Department patrol car that was providing backup. Had it 
not been for that footage, which was recorded and released by that 
local police department, the public would not have had access to the 
circumstances surrounding Mr. Ghaisar's death. Moreover, the footage 
revealed concerns about the Park Police's pursuit and engagement 
policies.
  Body and dashboard cameras for federal law enforcement officers are 
particularly important for the officers stationed in the nation's 
capital, where the Park Police and the uniformed division of the U.S. 
Secret Service have full local police powers. Many other federal police 
departments also have local police powers near their respective agency 
buildings in the District of Columbia. Cameras can increase 
transparency for individual interactions with police, strengthen public 
trust and even deter future criminal behavior. For example, when 
criminals know that they are being recorded by a dashboard camera, they 
may be less likely to flee the scene of a traffic accident because they 
realize that their license plate will be documented. Criminals may also 
be less likely to batter an officer because the recording may be used 
as evidence. On the other hand, officers will also be less likely to 
commit offenses for the same reason. Body and dashboard cameras can 
also be used to train current and future officers more effectively in 
best and worst practices.
  An increasing number of local police departments, including the 
Metropolitan Police Department in the District, are using body and 
dashboard cameras. It is clear that both law enforcement and the public 
would benefit from federal police departments following suit to 
increase transparency and maintain public trust.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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