PEACE Act of 2022
Bill: S.5309 | Sponsor: Sen. Padilla, Alex (D-CA)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Police Exercising Absolute Care with Everyone Act of 2022 or the PEACE Act of 2022
This bill provides statutory standards for the use of lethal and less lethal force by federal law enforcement officers.

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Police Exercising Absolute Care with 
Everyone Act of 2022'' or the ``PEACE Act of 2022''.

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

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Deescalation tactics and techniques.--The term 
        ``deescalation tactics and techniques'' means proactive actions 
        and approaches used by a Federal law enforcement officer to 
        stabilize a situation, taking as much time as appropriate, 
        without using physical force or the threat of physical force, 
        so that more options and resources are available to gain the 
        voluntary compliance of an individual and reduce or eliminate 
        the need to use force, including verbal persuasion, warnings, 
        tactical techniques, slowing down the pace of an incident, 
        waiting out a subject, creating distance between the officer 
        and the threat, and requesting additional resources to resolve 
        an incident.
            (2) Federal law enforcement officer.--The term ``Federal 
        law enforcement officer'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 115 of title 18, United States Code.
            (3) Imminent threat.--The term ``imminent threat''--
                    (A) means--
                            (i) an individual creating a risk of harm 
                        to others with the present ability, 
                        opportunity, and apparent intent to immediately 
                        cause the harm that is threatened; and
                            (ii) a risk that, based on the information 
                        available at the time, must be immediately 
                        confronted and addressed; and
                    (B) does not include merely a fear of future harm.
            (4) Less lethal force; lethal force.--The terms ``less 
        lethal force'' and ``lethal force'' have the meanings given 
        those terms in section 1123 of title 18, United States Code, as 
        added by this section.
            (5) Necessary.--The term ``necessary'', with respect to a 
        use of force, means that a reasonable Federal law enforcement 
        officer would objectively conclude, under the totality of the 
        circumstances, that there was no reasonable, less harmful 
        alternative to the force the Federal law enforcement officer 
        used.
            (6) Proportional.--The term ``proportional'', with respect 
        to a use of force, means the potential harm likely to be caused 
        through the force used by a Federal law enforcement officer 
        does not outweigh the benefit to be gained through achieving 
        the direct and legitimate law enforcement objective.
            (7) Reasonable alternatives.--The term ``reasonable 
        alternatives'' means tactics and methods used by a Federal law 
        enforcement officer to effectuate an arrest that do not 
        unreasonably increase the risk posed to the law enforcement 
        officer or another individual, including verbal communication, 
        distance, warnings, deescalation tactics and techniques, 
        tactical repositioning, and other tactics and techniques 
        intended to stabilize a situation and reduce the immediacy of a 
        risk so that more time, options, and resources can be called 
        upon to resolve a situation without the use of force.
            (8) Totality of the circumstances.--The term ``totality of 
        the circumstances'' means all credible facts known to the 
        Federal law enforcement officer leading up to and at the time 
        of the use of force, including the actions of the individual 
        against whom the Federal law enforcement officer uses such 
        force and the actions of the Federal law enforcement officer.
    (b) Prohibition on Less Lethal Force.--
            (1) In general.--A Federal law enforcement officer may not 
        use any less lethal force unless such force--
                    (A) is the least amount of force that is necessary 
                and proportional--
                            (i) in order to prevent an imminent threat 
                        of physical injury to the Federal law 
                        enforcement officer or another individual; or
                            (ii) to effectuate an arrest of an 
                        individual whom the Federal law enforcement 
                        officer has probable cause to believe has 
                        committed a criminal offense; and
                    (B) is used only after available and reasonable 
                alternatives to the use of less lethal force have been 
                exhausted.
            (2) Requirement to reduce and cease the use of force.--With 
        respect to the use of any less lethal force, a Federal law 
        enforcement officer shall--
                    (A) immediately reduce such force as the threat 
                diminishes; and
                    (B) cease the use of such force as soon as--
                            (i) the individual on whom the force is 
                        used is under the control of the Federal law 
                        enforcement officer or no longer poses a threat 
                        of physical injury to another individual; or
                            (ii) the Federal law enforcement officer 
                        determines that force will no longer 
                        accomplish, or is no longer necessary to 
                        accomplish, a legitimate law enforcement 
                        objective.
    (c) Prohibition on Use of Lethal Force.--
            (1) In general.--A Federal law enforcement officer may not 
        use lethal force against an individual unless--
                    (A) such force is necessary and proportional as a 
                last resort to prevent imminent and serious bodily 
                injury or death to the Federal law enforcement officer 
                or another individual;
                    (B) the use of such force creates no substantial 
                risk of injury to a third person; and
                    (C) the available and reasonable alternatives to 
                the use of such force have been exhausted.
            (2) Clarification.--A Federal law enforcement officer may 
        not use lethal force against an individual who poses a danger 
        only to himself or herself.
    (d) Requirement To Give Verbal Warning.--When feasible, prior to 
using force against an individual, a Federal law enforcement officer 
shall identify himself or herself as a Federal law enforcement officer 
and issue a verbal warning to the individual that the Federal law 
enforcement officer seeks to apprehend, which shall--
            (1) include a request that the individual surrender to the 
        law enforcement officer; and
            (2) notify the individual that the law enforcement officer 
        may use force against the individual if the individual resists 
        arrest or flees.
    (e) Guidance on Use of Force.--Not later than 120 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation 
with impacted individuals, communities, and organizations, including 
representatives of civil and human rights organizations, victims of law 
enforcement officer use of force, and representatives of law 
enforcement associations, shall provide guidance to Federal law 
enforcement agencies--
            (1) on the types of less lethal force and lethal force that 
        are prohibited under subsections (b) and (c);
            (2) on how a Federal law enforcement officer can assess 
        whether the use of force is appropriate and necessary; and
            (3) which shall account for special consideration when 
        interacting with--
                    (A) pregnant individuals;
                    (B) children and youth under 21 years of age;
                    (C) elderly individuals;
                    (D) physically frail individuals;
                    (E) individuals with mental, behavioral, or 
                physical disabilities or impairments;
                    (F) individuals experiencing perceptual or 
                cognitive impairments due to use of alcohol, narcotics, 
                hallucinogens, or other drugs;
                    (G) individuals suffering from a serious medical 
                condition; and
                    (H) individuals with limited English proficiency.
    (f) Limitation on Justification Defense.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 51 of title 18, United States 
        Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1123. Limitation on justification defense for Federal law 
              enforcement officers.
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Federal law enforcement officer.--The term `Federal 
        law enforcement officer' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 115.
            ``(2) Less lethal force.--The term `less lethal force' 
        means any force that is less than lethal force.
            ``(3) Lethal force.--The term `lethal force' means any 
        force that creates a substantial risk of causing death or 
        serious bodily injury, including--
                    ``(A) the discharge of a firearm;
                    ``(B) a maneuver that restricts blood or oxygen 
                flow to the brain, including chokeholds, strangleholds, 
                neck restraints, neck-holds, and carotid artery 
                restraints; and
                    ``(C) the use of a weapon of less lethal force in a 
                manner that creates a substantial risk of death or 
                serious bodily injury, including repeated or prolonged 
                discharges of an electronic control weapon and firing a 
                kinetic impact projectile weapon at the head of an 
                individual.
    ``(b) Use of Force.--It is not a defense to an offense under 
section 1111 or 1112 that the use of less lethal force or lethal force 
by a Federal law enforcement officer was justified if--
            ``(1) the use of use of such force by the officer was 
        inconsistent with section 2 of the Police Exercising Absolute 
        Care with Everyone Act of 2022; or
            ``(2) the actions of the officer, leading up to and at the 
        time of the use of the force, contributed to the necessity of 
        the use of such force.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 
        51 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
        after the item relating to section 1122 the following:

``1123. Limitation on justification defense for Federal law enforcement 
                            officers.''.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON THE RECEIPT OF FUNDS UNDER THE EDWARD BYRNE 
              MEMORIAL JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Limitation.--A State or unit of local government, other than an 
Indian Tribe, may not receive funds that the State or unit of local 
government would otherwise receive 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.) (commonly known as the ``Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 
Assistance Grant Program'') for any fiscal year in which the State or 
unit of local government does not have in effect a law, with respect to 
the use of force by law enforcement officers of the State or unit of 
local government, that is consistent with section 2 of this Act and 
section 1123 of title 18, United States Code, as determined by the 
Attorney General.
    (b) Subsequent Enactment.--If funds described in subsection (a) are 
withheld from a State or unit of local government pursuant to that 
subsection and the State or unit of local government subsequently 
enacts or puts in place a law described in that subsection and 
demonstrates substantial efforts to enforce such law, the State or unit 
of local government shall be eligible, in the fiscal year after the 
fiscal year during which the State or unit of local government 
demonstrates such substantial efforts, to receive the total amount that 
the State or unit of local government would have received during each 
fiscal year for which funds were withheld, not to exceed the total that 
such State or unit of local government would have received for a 5-year 
period.
    (c) Guidance.--Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with impacted 
individuals, communities, and organizations, including representatives 
of civil and human rights organizations, individuals against whom a law 
enforcement officer used force, and representatives of law enforcement 
associations, shall make guidance available to States and units of 
local government on the criteria that the Attorney General will use in 
determining whether the State or unit of local government has in place 
a law described in subsection (a).
    (d) Application.--This section shall apply to the first fiscal year 
that begins on or after the date that is 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and to each fiscal year thereafter.
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