I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7137 
To prohibit the receipt of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial State 
and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program and associated grant 
programs by State and local government units that have failed to adopt 
use-of-force policies and other policies that meet minimum standards; 
require State and local government units that operate law enforcement 
training programs funded by the Byrne program and associated grant 
programs to train officers in de-escalation and mental health crisis inter-
vention and to publicly disseminate use-of-force policies; to require the 
promulgation of protocols for the investigation and reporting of instances 
of the use of deadly force by Federal law enforcement officers; to provide 
for grants to community supervision offices for training in de-escalation 
techniques and to other personnel, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 8, 2020 
Mr. RICHMOND introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To prohibit the receipt of funds under the Edward Byrne 
Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance 
Program and associated grant programs by State and 
local government units that have failed to adopt use- 
of-force policies and other policies that meet minimum 
standards; require State and local government units that 
operate law enforcement training programs funded by 
the Byrne program and associated grant programs to 
train officers in de-escalation and mental health crisis 
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intervention and to publicly disseminate use-of-force poli-
cies; to require the promulgation of protocols for the 
investigation and reporting of instances of the use of 
deadly force by Federal law enforcement officers; to pro-
vide for grants to community supervision offices for 
training in de-escalation techniques and to other per-
sonnel, 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 ‘‘Police Reform Act of 
2020’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Law enforcement officers in the United 
States have always been appropriately empowered to 
use force, including deadly force, when necessary to 
apprehend suspects, protect public safety, and re-
spond to imminent threats. The use of force by law 
enforcement, however, must be exercised with due 
regard to constitutional limits, proportionality, 
norms of human dignity, and the importance of har-
monious police-community relations. 
(2) In recent years, community unrest has been 
sparked by incidents where law enforcement officers 
have used excessive or disproportionate force, failed 
to deescalate encounters with civilians, or failed to 
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follow departmental policies and use-of-force mat-
rices, especially in communities of color. 
(3) Grassroots organizations like the National 
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 
the American Civil Liberties Union, the National 
Council of La Raza, the National Urban League, 
National Congress of American Indians, and the Na-
tional Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium 
have monitored allegations of police misconduct, 
while membership organizations such as the Na-
tional Sheriffs’ Association, Fraternal Order of Po-
lice, and National Association of School Resource 
Officers have represented the interests of Federal, 
State, local, and Indian tribal law enforcement 
groups and with the civilian community on matters 
of common interest. 
(4) Where excessive or disproportionate force is 
employed by law enforcement officers, hostility is 
created between local communities and law enforce-
ment, reducing the effectiveness of efforts to reduce 
crime and promote public safety. 
(5) Police training in the United States is 
largely focused upon operational, investigatory, and 
tactical concerns, with less time and focus on issues 
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relating to proportionality in the use of force, de-es-
calation, and constitutional norms and limits. 
(6) Models for proportionate exercise of the use 
of force exist. For example, the Police Executive Re-
search Forum, a national organization of police offi-
cials, has developed guidelines advocating for a 
‘‘guardian’’ model for policing. These principles 
stress respect for human life, more restrictive stand-
ards for the use of force, proportionality and de-es-
calation techniques, and transparent and inde-
pendent post-action investigations. 
(7) The issues surrounding law enforcement use 
of force are especially difficult when it comes to po-
lice interactions with persons undergoing mental 
health crises, which occurs in as much as 20 percent 
of all police-civilian encounters. Law enforcement 
training too often fails to prepare officers to deal ef-
fectively and compassionately with people with men-
tal health disorders or partner with mental health 
crisis interventionists or specialists. 
(8) Programs promoting alternative responses 
to mental health calls, including Crisis Intervention 
Training (CIT) programs, have had a substantial 
positive impact on police interactions with those un-
dergoing a mental health crisis or persons with phys-
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ical, developmental, or intellectual disabilities. In a 
CIT program, selected officers are trained to iden-
tify persons undergoing a crisis, employ de-esca-
lation techniques, and serve as liaison between police 
and mental health agencies, or partner with mental 
health responders outside the law enforcement agen-
cy. Studies have shown that CIT training is associ-
ated with reductions in arrests, increased diversions 
to mental health services, and positive changes in 
police attitudes and responses toward persons under-
going a mental health crisis. 
(9) Since 2017, the Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation has administered the National Use-of-Force 
Data Collection, which seeks to compile data on po-
lice-civilian encounters that cause death or serious 
bodily injury, or where an officer discharges a weap-
on. Law enforcement officials have partnered with 
the FBI in creating this data collection method, in-
cluding the Association of State Criminal Investiga-
tive Agencies, Association of State Uniform Crime 
Reporting Programs, International Association of 
Chiefs of Police, Major Cities Chiefs Association, 
Major County Sheriffs of America, National Organi-
zation of Black Law Enforcement Executives, Na-
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tional Sheriffs’ Association, and the Police Executive 
Research Forum. 
SEC. 3. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR USE-OF-FORCE POLI-
CIES; USE-OF-FORCE REVIEW BOARDS; DE-
CERTIFICATION OF OFFICERS. 
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
State or unit of local government shall be eligible to re-
ceive funding under part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 
et seq.) unless that State or unit of local government has 
adopted a use-of-force training policy that, in substantial 
effect and at a minimum, trains officers to adhere to the 
following standards and permits— 
(1) use of objectively reasonable and propor-
tionate force only to effect arrest, to prevent escape, 
or to overcome resistance; 
(2) use of deadly force only when the officer 
has an objectively reasonable belief, based on the to-
tality of the circumstances that such force is nec-
essary to— 
(A) defend against an imminent threat of 
death or serious bodily injury to the officer or 
to another person who is not the subject of the 
use of deadly force; 
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(B) apprehend a fleeing person for any 
suspected felony that threatened or resulted in 
death or serious bodily injury, if the officer rea-
sonably believes that the person will cause im-
minent death or serious bodily injury to another 
person who is not the subject of the use of 
deadly force, unless immediately apprehended; 
(C) where feasible, the officer shall, prior 
to the use of deadly force, make reasonable ef-
forts to identify themselves as a law enforce-
ment officer and to warn that deadly force may 
be used, unless the officer has objectively rea-
sonable grounds to believe the person is aware 
of those facts; and 
(D) law enforcement officers observing an 
encounter where they have reason to believe, 
based on the totality of the circumstances, that 
a violation of the use of the agency’s use of 
deadly force policy is occurring have a duty to 
intervene in order to prevent the use of deadly 
force in violation of the agency’s policy; and 
(3) for purposes of this subsection, in order for 
a State or unit of local government to be eligible to 
receive funding under this statute, its use-of-force 
training policies must, at a minimum, define— 
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(A) ‘‘deadly force’’ as any use of force that 
creates a substantial risk of causing death or 
serious bodily injury, including, but not limited 
to— 
(i) the discharge of a firearm; 
(ii) the use of carotid holds or blows; 
and 
(iii) upper vertebrae strikes and holds; 
(B) the threat of death or serious bodily 
injury as ‘‘imminent’’ when, based on the total-
ity of the circumstances, an objectively reason-
able officer in the same situation would believe 
that a person has the present ability, oppor-
tunity, and intent to presently cause death or 
serious bodily injury to the officer or another 
person who is not the subject of the use of 
deadly force; 
(C) the use of deadly force as ‘‘necessary’’ 
only when a law enforcement officer has an ob-
jectively reasonable belief, based on the totality 
of the circumstances, that death or serious bod-
ily injury will occur to the officer or to another 
person, who is not the subject of the use of 
deadly force, but for the use of deadly force. In 
determining whether deadly force is necessary, 
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a reasonable officer shall evaluate whether, 
under the totality of the circumstances, other 
means or techniques are available to prevent 
death or serious bodily injury and are feasible 
under the totality of the circumstances; and 
(D) the ‘‘totality of the circumstances’’ to 
mean all facts known to the officer at the time, 
including the conduct of the officer and the 
subject leading up to the use of deadly force. 
(b) USE-OF-FORCE
REVIEW
BOARDS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, no State or unit of 
local government shall be eligible to receive funding under 
part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) unless that 
State or unit of local government has instituted a board 
(in this Act referred to as a ‘‘Review Board’’) to review 
incidents of the use of deadly force and allegations of the 
use of excessive force by law enforcement officers. 
(1) To meet the requirements of this Act, a Re-
view Board must— 
(A) consist of no more than 5 persons, and 
a majority of the membership of this Review 
Board must not be current or former members 
of a Federal, State, or local law enforcement 
agency; 
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