I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 125 

To provide for grants for States that require sensitivity training for law 

enforcement officers of that State and to incentivize States to enact 

laws requiring the independent investigation and prosecution of the use 

of deadly force by law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2019 

Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. CLAY, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, 

Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. CLARKE of 

New York, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. 

KHANNA, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE, 

Ms. NORTON, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RYAN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. WATERS, Mrs. WATSON

COLEMAN, Mr. PASCRELL, and Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for grants for States that require sensitivity training for law enforcement officers of that State and to 

incentivize States to enact laws requiring the independent 

investigation and prosecution of the use of deadly force 

by law enforcement officers, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Police Training and 

3 Independent Review Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR TRAINING AND SENSITIVITY AND THE 

5 USE OF INDEPENDENT PROSECUTORS. 

6 Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

7 Streets Act of 1968 (et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

9 ‘‘PART NN—GRANTS FOR TRAINING AND 

10 INDEPENDENT PROSECUTION 

11 ‘‘SEC. 3041. IN GENERAL. 

12 ‘‘The Attorney General may make a grant to a State 

13 each fiscal year for purposes of carrying out the require14 ments of section 3042(a) and 3043. The term of such 

15 grant shall be 1 year. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 3042. TRAINING ON DIVERSITY AND SENSITIVITY FOR 

17 LAW ENFORCEMENT. 

18 ‘‘(a) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—The requirements 

19 of this subsection are as follows: 

20 ‘‘(1) A State shall require that all individuals 

21 enrolled in an academy of a law enforcement agency 

22 of the State and all law enforcement officers of the 

23 State fulfill a training session on sensitivity each fis24 cal year, including training on ethnic and racial bias, 

25 cultural diversity, and police interaction with the dis26 abled, mentally ill, and new immigrants. In the case 


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1 of individuals attending an academy, such training 

2 session shall be for 8 hours, and in the case of all 

3 other law enforcement officers, the training session 

4 shall be for 4 hours. 

5 ‘‘(2) A State shall certify to the Attorney Gen6 eral of the United States that such training sessions 

7 have been completed. 

8 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE AND INELIGIBILITY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) COMPLIANCE DATE.—The period specified 

10 under this paragraph is the period beginning 120 

11 days after the date of enactment of this part, to 

12 comply with subsection (a), except that— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Attorney General may grant an 

14 additional 120 days to a State that is making 

15 good faith efforts to comply with such sub16 section; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the Attorney General shall waive the 

18 requirements of subsection (a) if compliance 

19 with such subsection by a State would be un20 constitutional under the constitution of such 

21 State. 

22 ‘‘(2) INELIGIBILITY.—A State that is not in 

23 compliance with the requirements of subsection (a) 

24 during a fiscal year is not eligible for a grant under 

25 this part. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 3043. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF LAW ENFORCEMENT 

2 USE OF DEADLY FORCE. 

3 ‘‘In the case of a State that fails by the end of a 

4 fiscal year to enact or have in effect an independent pros5 ecution of law enforcement law, that State is not eligible 

6 for a grant under this part. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 3044. DEFINITIONS. 

8 ‘‘In this part: 

9 ‘‘(1) The term ‘deadly force’ means that force 

10 which a reasonable person would consider likely to 

11 cause death or serious bodily harm. 

12 ‘‘(2) The term ‘independent prosecution of law 

13 enforcement law’ means a statute requiring the ap14 pointment of an independent prosecutor to conduct 

15 any criminal investigation and prosecution in 

16 which— 

17 ‘‘(A) one or more of the possible defend18 ants is a law enforcement officer; 

19 ‘‘(B) one or more of the alleged offenses 

20 involves the law enforcement officer’s use of 

21 deadly force in the course of carrying out that 

22 officer’s duty; and 

23 ‘‘(C) the law enforcement officer’s use of 

24 deadly force resulted in a death or injury. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘independent prosecutor’ means, 

2 with respect to a criminal investigation or prosecu3 tion, a prosecutor who— 

4 ‘‘(A) does not live or work in the same 

5 county as the county in which the alleged crime 

6 was committed; and 

7 ‘‘(B) would not be involved in the prosecu8 tion in the ordinary course of that prosecutor’s 

9 duties.’’. 

Æ 


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