I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1787 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
impose certain additional requirements on applicants for COPS grants, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 14, 2019 
Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. THOMPSON of Mis-
sissippi, Ms. FRANKEL, and Mr. DEUTCH) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 to impose certain additional requirements 
on applicants for COPS grants, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Corey Jones Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Corey Jones of Lake Worth, Florida, was 
shot and killed by a plainclothes law enforcement of-
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ficer operating an unmarked vehicle on October 18, 
2015. 
(2) Mr. Jones was legally and peacefully pulled 
to the side of the road while he awaited roadside as-
sistance at approximately 3 a.m. in the morning be-
cause his car had broken down. 
(3) While Mr. Jones awaited roadside assist-
ance, he was approached by a law enforcement offi-
cer driving an unmarked van and dressed in plain-
clothes. 
(4) Mr. Jones would not have had any reason-
able reason to believe that the person in plainclothes 
driving the unmarked vehicle was a law enforcement 
officer. 
(5) Any confusion as to the nature of the law 
enforcement officer’s interaction with Mr. Jones 
could likely have been avoided had a uniformed offi-
cer in a marked vehicle been called to the scene. 
(6) Tragic incidents like the death of Mr. Jones 
can easily be avoided by prohibiting law enforcement 
officers in plainclothes or law enforcement officers in 
plainclothes and unmarked vehicles from engaging in 
routine traffic stops. 
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SEC. 3. ENSURING THE SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC AND LAW 
ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS DURING ROUTINE 
TRAFFIC STOPS INVOLVING UNMARKED VE-
HICLES AND PLAINCLOTHES OFFICERS. 
(a) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Section 1702 of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3796dd–1) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(B) in paragraph (11), by striking the pe-
riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’ at the end; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(12) certify that no law enforcement agency 
that will receive grant funds from the applicant al-
lows law enforcement officers to engage in routine 
traffic stops while in plainclothes or while in plain-
clothes and in a police vehicle that is unmarked or 
that otherwise is not clearly identified as a police ve-
hicle.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting after ‘‘1 
or more of the requirements of subsection (c)’’ 
the following ‘‘(other than paragraph (12)’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ‘‘1 
or more of the requirements of subsection (c)’’ 
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the following ‘‘(other than paragraph (12)’’; 
and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) NO WAIVER OF PLAINCLOTHES CERTIFI-
CATION.—The Attorney General may not waive the 
requirement under subsection (c)(12).’’. 
(b) CIVIL ACTION.—If the Attorney General deter-
mines, as a result of the reviews required by section 1705 
of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
1968, that a law enforcement officer has engaged in con-
duct that violates a certification under section 1702(c)(12) 
of such Act applicable to that law enforcement officer, and 
such conduct has resulted in serious injury or death to 
any person, that person may bring a civil action against 
that law enforcement officer and any grantee under part 
Q of title I of such Act that is a grantee that is a State, 
unit of local government, Indian tribal government, or 
other entity with direct authority over that law enforce-
ment officer. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General of 
the United States shall submit to Congress a report that 
includes data relating to the number and nature of 
incidences where a law enforcement officer dressed in 
plainclothes or dressed in plainclothes and operating an 
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unmarked vehicle, engaged in a routine traffic stop that 
resulted in injury or death. 
Æ 
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