II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5309 

To prohibit a Federal law enforcement officer from using lethal force or 

less lethal force unless such force is necessary, to encourage States 

to adopt similar laws or policies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 20, 2022 

Mr. PADILLA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prohibit a Federal law enforcement officer from using 

lethal force or less lethal force unless such force is necessary, to encourage States to adopt similar laws or 

policies, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Police Exercising Ab5 solute Care with Everyone Act of 2022’’ or the ‘‘PEACE 

6 Act of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. USE OF FORCE BY FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 

2 OFFICERS. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) DEESCALATION TACTICS AND TECH5 NIQUES.—The term ‘‘deescalation tactics and tech6 niques’’ means proactive actions and approaches 

7 used by a Federal law enforcement officer to sta8 bilize a situation, taking as much time as appro9 priate, without using physical force or the threat of 

10 physical force, so that more options and resources 

11 are available to gain the voluntary compliance of an 

12 individual and reduce or eliminate the need to use 

13 force, including verbal persuasion, warnings, tactical 

14 techniques, slowing down the pace of an incident, 

15 waiting out a subject, creating distance between the 

16 officer and the threat, and requesting additional re17 sources to resolve an incident. 

18 (2) FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.— 

19 The term ‘‘Federal law enforcement officer’’ has the 

20 meaning given such term in section 115 of title 18, 

21 United States Code. 

22 (3) IMMINENT THREAT.—The term ‘‘imminent 

23 threat’’— 

24 (A) means— 

25 (i) an individual creating a risk of 

26 harm to others with the present ability, opVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Jan 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5309.IS S5309

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1 portunity, and apparent intent to imme2 diately cause the harm that is threatened; 

3 and 

4 (ii) a risk that, based on the informa5 tion available at the time, must be imme6 diately confronted and addressed; and 

7 (B) does not include merely a fear of fu8 ture harm. 

9 (4) LESS LETHAL FORCE; LETHAL FORCE.— 

10 The terms ‘‘less lethal force’’ and ‘‘lethal force’’ have 

11 the meanings given those terms in section 1123 of 

12 title 18, United States Code, as added by this sec13 tion. 

14 (5) NECESSARY.—The term ‘‘necessary’’, with 

15 respect to a use of force, means that a reasonable 

16 Federal law enforcement officer would objectively 

17 conclude, under the totality of the circumstances, 

18 that there was no reasonable, less harmful alter19 native to the force the Federal law enforcement offi20 cer used. 

21 (6) PROPORTIONAL.—The term ‘‘proportional’’, 

22 with respect to a use of force, means the potential 

23 harm likely to be caused through the force used by 

24 a Federal law enforcement officer does not outweigh 


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1 the benefit to be gained through achieving the direct 

2 and legitimate law enforcement objective. 

3 (7) REASONABLE ALTERNATIVES.—The term 

4 ‘‘reasonable alternatives’’ means tactics and methods 

5 used by a Federal law enforcement officer to effec6 tuate an arrest that do not unreasonably increase 

7 the risk posed to the law enforcement officer or an8 other individual, including verbal communication, 

9 distance, warnings, deescalation tactics and tech10 niques, tactical repositioning, and other tactics and 

11 techniques intended to stabilize a situation and re12 duce the immediacy of a risk so that more time, op13 tions, and resources can be called upon to resolve a 

14 situation without the use of force. 

15 (8) TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES.—The 

16 term ‘‘totality of the circumstances’’ means all cred17 ible facts known to the Federal law enforcement offi18 cer leading up to and at the time of the use of force, 

19 including the actions of the individual against whom 

20 the Federal law enforcement officer uses such force 

21 and the actions of the Federal law enforcement offi22 cer. 

23 (b) PROHIBITION ON LESS LETHAL FORCE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Federal law enforcement 

2 officer may not use any less lethal force unless such 

3 force— 

4 (A) is the least amount of force that is 

5 necessary and proportional— 

6 (i) in order to prevent an imminent 

7 threat of physical injury to the Federal law 

8 enforcement officer or another individual; 

9 or 

10 (ii) to effectuate an arrest of an indi11 vidual whom the Federal law enforcement 

12 officer has probable cause to believe has 

13 committed a criminal offense; and 

14 (B) is used only after available and reason15 able alternatives to the use of less lethal force 

16 have been exhausted. 

17 (2) REQUIREMENT TO REDUCE AND CEASE THE

18 USE OF FORCE.—With respect to the use of any less 

19 lethal force, a Federal law enforcement officer 

20 shall— 

21 (A) immediately reduce such force as the 

22 threat diminishes; and 

23 (B) cease the use of such force as soon 

24 as— 


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1 (i) the individual on whom the force is 

2 used is under the control of the Federal 

3 law enforcement officer or no longer poses 

4 a threat of physical injury to another indi5 vidual; or 

6 (ii) the Federal law enforcement offi7 cer determines that force will no longer ac8 complish, or is no longer necessary to ac9 complish, a legitimate law enforcement ob10 jective. 

11 (c) PROHIBITION ON USE OF LETHAL FORCE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Federal law enforcement 

13 officer may not use lethal force against an individual 

14 unless— 

15 (A) such force is necessary and propor16 tional as a last resort to prevent imminent and 

17 serious bodily injury or death to the Federal 

18 law enforcement officer or another individual; 

19 (B) the use of such force creates no sub20 stantial risk of injury to a third person; and 

21 (C) the available and reasonable alter22 natives to the use of such force have been ex23 hausted. 

24 (2) CLARIFICATION.—A Federal law enforce25 ment officer may not use lethal force against an inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Jan 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5309.IS S5309

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1 dividual who poses a danger only to himself or her2 self. 

3 (d) REQUIREMENT TO GIVE VERBAL WARNING.— 

4 When feasible, prior to using force against an individual, 

5 a Federal law enforcement officer shall identify himself or 

6 herself as a Federal law enforcement officer and issue a 

7 verbal warning to the individual that the Federal law en8 forcement officer seeks to apprehend, which shall— 

9 (1) include a request that the individual sur10 render to the law enforcement officer; and 

11 (2) notify the individual that the law enforce12 ment officer may use force against the individual if 

13 the individual resists arrest or flees. 

14 (e) GUIDANCE ON USE OF FORCE.—Not later than 

15 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the At16 torney General, in consultation with impacted individuals, 

17 communities, and organizations, including representatives 

18 of civil and human rights organizations, victims of law en19 forcement officer use of force, and representatives of law 

20 enforcement associations, shall provide guidance to Fed21 eral law enforcement agencies— 

22 (1) on the types of less lethal force and lethal 

23 force that are prohibited under subsections (b) and 

24 (c); 


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1 (2) on how a Federal law enforcement officer 

2 can assess whether the use of force is appropriate 

3 and necessary; and 

4 (3) which shall account for special consideration 

5 when interacting with— 

6 (A) pregnant individuals; 

7 (B) children and youth under 21 years of 

8 age; 

9 (C) elderly individuals; 

10 (D) physically frail individuals; 

11 (E) individuals with mental, behavioral, or 

12 physical disabilities or impairments; 

13 (F) individuals experiencing perceptual or 

14 cognitive impairments due to use of alcohol, 

15 narcotics, hallucinogens, or other drugs; 

16 (G) individuals suffering from a serious 

17 medical condition; and 

18 (H) individuals with limited English pro19 ficiency. 

20 (f) LIMITATION ON JUSTIFICATION DEFENSE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 51 of title 18, 

22 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1123. Limitation on justification defense for Fed2 eral law enforcement officers. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.— 

5 The term ‘Federal law enforcement officer’ has the 

6 meaning given such term in section 115. 

7 ‘‘(2) LESS LETHAL FORCE.—The term ‘less le8 thal force’ means any force that is less than lethal 

9 force. 

10 ‘‘(3) LETHAL FORCE.—The term ‘lethal force’ 

11 means any force that creates a substantial risk of 

12 causing death or serious bodily injury, including— 

13 ‘‘(A) the discharge of a firearm; 

14 ‘‘(B) a maneuver that restricts blood or ox15 ygen flow to the brain, including chokeholds, 

16 strangleholds, neck restraints, neck-holds, and 

17 carotid artery restraints; and 

18 ‘‘(C) the use of a weapon of less lethal 

19 force in a manner that creates a substantial 

20 risk of death or serious bodily injury, including 

21 repeated or prolonged discharges of an elec22 tronic control weapon and firing a kinetic im23 pact projectile weapon at the head of an indi24 vidual. 

25 ‘‘(b) USE OF FORCE.—It is not a defense to an of26 fense under section 1111 or 1112 that the use of less leVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Jan 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5309.IS S5309

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1 thal force or lethal force by a Federal law enforcement 

2 officer was justified if— 

3 ‘‘(1) the use of use of such force by the officer 

4 was inconsistent with section 2 of the Police Exer5 cising Absolute Care with Everyone Act of 2022; or 

6 ‘‘(2) the actions of the officer, leading up to 

7 and at the time of the use of the force, contributed 

8 to the necessity of the use of such force.’’. 

9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec10 tions for chapter 51 of title 18, United States Code, 

11 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

12 section 1122 the following: 

‘‘1123. Limitation on justification defense for Federal law enforcement officers.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON THE RECEIPT OF FUNDS UNDER 

14 THE EDWARD BYRNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE AS15 SISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM. 

16 (a) LIMITATION.—A State or unit of local govern17 ment, other than an Indian Tribe, may not receive funds 

18 that the State or unit of local government would otherwise 

19 receive under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus 

20 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 

21 10151 et seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘Edward Byrne 

22 Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program’’) for any fis23 cal year in which the State or unit of local government 

24 does not have in effect a law, with respect to the use of 


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1 force by law enforcement officers of the State or unit of 

2 local government, that is consistent with section 2 of this 

3 Act and section 1123 of title 18, United States Code, as 

4 determined by the Attorney General. 

5 (b) SUBSEQUENT ENACTMENT.—If funds described 

6 in subsection (a) are withheld from a State or unit of local 

7 government pursuant to that subsection and the State or 

8 unit of local government subsequently enacts or puts in 

9 place a law described in that subsection and demonstrates 

10 substantial efforts to enforce such law, the State or unit 

11 of local government shall be eligible, in the fiscal year after 

12 the fiscal year during which the State or unit of local gov13 ernment demonstrates such substantial efforts, to receive 

14 the total amount that the State or unit of local govern15 ment would have received during each fiscal year for which 

16 funds were withheld, not to exceed the total that such 

17 State or unit of local government would have received for 

18 a 5-year period. 

19 (c) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 120 days after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in 

21 consultation with impacted individuals, communities, and 

22 organizations, including representatives of civil and 

23 human rights organizations, individuals against whom a 

24 law enforcement officer used force, and representatives of 

25 law enforcement associations, shall make guidance availVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Jan 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5309.IS S5309

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1 able to States and units of local government on the criteria 

2 that the Attorney General will use in determining whether 

3 the State or unit of local government has in place a law 

4 described in subsection (a). 

5 (d) APPLICATION.—This section shall apply to the 

6 first fiscal year that begins on or after the date that is 

7 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

8 to each fiscal year thereafter. 

Æ 


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