To deny Federal assistance to any State or local law enforcement agencies whose officers use excessive force or violence leading to the death of innocent or unarmed citizens, or who fail to establish, enforce and follow transparent and accountable procedures that fully protect the lives and health of citizens during surveillance, interrogation, arrest or imprisonment from torture, excessive physical or psychological abuse and death, and to require a system of transparent legal and public review of such allegations and cases that can result in the sanction, punishment and removal of officers who perpetrate such abuses or their superiors.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Law Enforcement Abuse Transparency 
and Accountability Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) American law enforcement has a fundamental duty to 
        provide compassion, aid, and protection and safety to the 
        people it serves.
            (2) A primary function of law enforcement is to preserve 
        life, regardless of the race, ethnicity, religion, social or 
        economic standing, sexual preference, or country of origin of 
        the individuals involved.
            (3) Over many years, thousands of cases of State and local 
        law enforcement agency violations of suspects, detainees, and 
        prisoners went inadequately addressed across the United States, 
        especially in African-American communities and other 
        communities of color or poverty.
            (4) In recent years, procedures, training, and public 
        oversight have failed to significantly curb or eliminate abuses 
        and murders of innocent suspects and citizens at the hands of 
        officers of the law, to fully investigate claims of excessive 
        use of force, or to adequately reprimand, punish, or remove 
        such offenders or their superiors.
            (5) A special prosecutor in Chicago has been investigating 
        a police abuse ring that operated over three decades with 
        impunity, responsible for torturing over 200 African-American 
        males in their custody at the Area 2 and Area 3 police 
        headquarters.
            (6) Since the 1997 New York Police Department torture of 
        Abner Louima, and the fatal shooting of Amadou Bailo Diallo in 
        1999, public and media attention concerning abuse of power and 
        the unjustified and improper use of force by law enforcement in 
        communities of color has continuously increased, as have the 
        number of outraged community responses and the demands for 
        external oversight of police practices.
            (7) More recently, police in Chicago on November 25, 2006, 
        police officers in New York City shot 50 times and killed an 
        unarmed man, Sean Bell. The next day, a community rally 
        protested the police action and called for the removal of 
        Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
            (8) Fatal shootings and abuse of suspects and prisoners 
        have come to light again recently in other cities, including 
        Atlanta, Georgia, and DeKalb County, Georgia.
            (9) Every major State and local city law enforcement agency 
        receives and depends on some level of Federal funding, 
        training, grants, or assistance, paid for primarily from the 
        tax revenues of the citizens being abused.
            (10) The common and continuing unaccountable behavior and 
        silence of members of law enforcement agencies regarding these 
        abuses are a disgrace to the efforts of law enforcement 
        agencies throughout the United States and should not be 
        tolerated.
            (11) The lack of transparency, oversight, community 
        involvement, independent review and investigation, and 
        consequences to the law enforcement violators makes continuing 
        abuse more likely, and must be reversed by denying Federal 
        funding to any law enforcement agency that fails to establish a 
        minimum of professional training and procedures of engagement; 
        that tolerates abuses or fatal use of excessive force; that 
        fails to operate under rules of transparency and community 
        oversight, investigation, and review; that fails to discipline, 
        remove, or otherwise hold accountable any perpetrators acting 
        under the color of law enforcement; or that refuses to fairly 
        hear each case or allegation of possible abuse or excessive use 
        of force by law enforcement officers, reviewed by an 
        established and independent forum.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the dishonorable actions referred 
to in section 2 should be independently investigated, recorded, and 
condemned.

SEC. 4. INELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--During the 1-year period beginning on the date of 
enactment of this Act, or until transparency and accountability are 
fully restored, law enforcement agencies that do not have established 
procedures for independent oversight and review, or do not hold 
violations by police of excessive use of force, torture, or 
manslaughter accountable, shall be ineligible to participate in any 
Federal program, whether by funding, assistance, contract, grant, 
personnel support, or otherwise.
    (b) Licenses.--During the 1-year period beginning on the date of 
enactment of this Act, any Federal license issued to any such law 
enforcement agencies shall be suspended, or until transparency and 
accountability are fully restored.
    (c) Equipment.--Law enforcement agencies identified as carrying out 
abuses or wrongful deaths, without consequence or open public review or 
allegations, shall immediately return all federally-owned equipment in 
the possession or use of such law enforcement agencies to the 
appropriate Federal agency.

SEC. 5. LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``law enforcement agencies'' means the 
following entities in any State or locality within the control and 
jurisdiction of the United States receiving Federal funds for training, 
equipment, or other support.

Summary: Law Enforcement Abuse Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006 - Expresses the sense of Congress that incidences of law enforcement abuse of citizens should be independently investigated, recorded, and condemned. Renders state or local law enforcement agencies receiving assistance from the federal government ineligible for further assistance, licenses, or federally-owned equipment until such agencies establish procedures for independent oversight and review and hold police officers accountable for excessive use of force, torture, or manslaughter.