I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7188 
To require law enforcement agencies to report the use of lethal force, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 11, 2020 
Mr. TIMMONS (for himself, Mr. CLINE, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, Mr. HURD 
of Texas, and Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To require law enforcement agencies to report the use of 
lethal force, 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 ‘‘Walter Scott Notifica-
tion Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 3673 of title 18, 
United States Code; and 
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(2) the term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 901(a) of title I of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
U.S.C. 10251(a)). 
SEC. 3. STATE INFORMATION REGARDING USE OF LETHAL 
FORCE BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year in which a 
State receives funds for a program described in subsection 
(c), the State shall report to the Attorney General, on an 
annual basis and pursuant to guidelines established by the 
Attorney General, information regarding any discharge of 
a firearm by a law enforcement officer which results in 
the death of a civilian. 
(b) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The report required 
under subsection (a) shall contain information that, at a 
minimum, includes— 
(1) the number of decedents and the number of 
law enforcement officers who discharged a firearm; 
(2) the age, sex, race, and ethnicity of each de-
cedent; 
(3) any mental health issue of a decedent that 
was observed or reported; 
(4) the age, sex, race, and ethnicity of each law 
enforcement officer; 
(5) a brief description of the event; 
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(6) the alleged criminal activity of each dece-
dent prior to the use of force; 
(7) whether each decedent was armed and the 
type of weapon the decedent had; 
(8) a description of the weapon used by each 
law enforcement officer; 
(9) a brief description of any injury sustained 
by a law enforcement officer; 
(10) a brief description of the finding of the law 
enforcement agency as to whether the use of deadly 
force was justified or unjustified; and 
(11) the case disposition, including whether— 
(A) the case was cleared by departmental 
review or referred to a prosecuting authority; 
(B) criminal charges were filed; 
(C) prosecution was declined; 
(D) a grand jury returned a No True Bill; 
or 
(E) a court entered an acquittal or a con-
viction. 
(c) COMPLIANCE.— 
(1) INELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDS.—For any fiscal 
year beginning after the date of enactment of this 
Act, a State that fails to comply with subsection (a), 
shall be subject to a 10-percent reduction of the 
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funds that would otherwise be allocated for that fis-
cal year to the State under subpart 1 of part E of 
title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.), 
whether characterized as the Edward Byrne Memo-
rial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance 
Programs, the Local Government Law Enforcement 
Block Grants Program, the Edward Byrne Memorial 
Justice Assistance Grant Program, or otherwise. 
(2) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated 
under a program referred to in paragraph (1) to a 
State for failure to comply with subsection (a) shall 
be reallocated under the program to States that have 
complied with subsection (a). 
(d) PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION.—Section 1701 
of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(n) USE OF FORCE REPORTING.— 
‘‘(1) PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION.—For the 
first fiscal year beginning after the date of enact-
ment of this subsection and the 3 fiscal years there-
after, the Attorney General may give preferential 
consideration, where feasible, to an application from 
an applicant in a State that is in full compliance 
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with section 3(a) of the Walter Scott Notification 
Act of 2020. 
‘‘(2) REDUCTION OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Begin-
ning in the fifth fiscal year beginning after the date 
of enactment of this subsection, a State that fails to 
comply with section 3(a) of the Walter Scott Notifi-
cation Act of 2020 shall be subject to a 20-percent 
reduction of the funds that would otherwise be allo-
cated for the fiscal year to the State under this part. 
‘‘(3) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated 
under this part to a State for failure to comply with 
section 3(a) of the Walter Scott Notification Act of 
2020 shall be reallocated to States that have com-
plied with such section.’’. 
(e) INDEPENDENT AUDIT AND REVIEW.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
each year thereafter, the Attorney General shall conduct 
an audit and review of the information provided under 
subsection (a) to determine whether each State receiving 
funds under section 505(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
10156(a)) or under part Q of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381 
et seq.) unless the State has ensured, to the satisfaction 
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of the Attorney General, that the State is in substantial 
compliance with the requirements of this section. 
(f) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF DATA.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, and each year 
thereafter, the Attorney General shall publish, and 
make available to the public, a report containing the 
data reported to the Attorney General under sub-
section (a). 
(2) PRIVACY
PROTECTIONS.—Nothing in this 
subsection shall be construed to supersede the re-
quirements or limitations under section 552a of title 
5, United States Code (commonly known as the 
‘‘Privacy Act of 1974’’). 
(g) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in 
coordination with the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, shall issue guidance on best practices relat-
ing to establishing standard data collection systems that 
capture the information required to be reported under sub-
section (a), which shall include standard and consistent 
definitions for terms. 
Æ 
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