[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 24 (Monday, February 6, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E93-E94]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE FEDERAL POLICE CAMERA AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 
                                  2023

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 6, 2023

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I, along with Representative Donald 
S. Beyer, Jr., introduce the Federal Police Camera and Accountability 
Act of 2023. This bill would require uniformed federal law enforcement 
officers to wear body cameras and marked federal law enforcement 
vehicles to have dashboard cameras. It would also require the 
Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on federal law 
enforcement officers' training, vehicle pursuits, use of force and 
interaction with citizens. In the last two Congresses, we introduced 
virtually identical bills, which were included in the House-passed 
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act both Congresses.
  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 since Capitol Police officers do not wear 
body cameras, we have been forced to rely on social media, cameras in 
and around the Capitol, body cameras worn by Metropolitan Police 
Department officers and public reporting to learn what happened. The 
events at Lafayette Square in 2020, 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.
  We first introduced this bill after Bijan Ghaisar was fatally shot on 
November 17, 2017, 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

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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 law 
enforcement agencies 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 individuals 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. Individuals may also be less likely to attack 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.
  Last year, President Biden issued an executive order (E.O.) requiring 
federal law enforcement agencies use body cameras, adopt and publicly 
post body camera policies and expedite release of video footage to the 
public following incidents involving serious bodily injury or deaths 
while an individual is in custody. This is a positive first step. Our 
bill is necessary, however, because the E.O. is more limited in scope 
than the bill, including that the E.O. does not require dashboard 
cameras and the U.S. Capitol Police and Supreme Court Police are not 
required to use any cameras. Additionally, the executive order can be 
undone by a future president, whereas this bill would enshrine these 
rules into law, requiring a future Congress and president acting 
together through subsequent legislation to overturn them.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

                          ____________________