Press Release: Councilmember Charles Allen Circulates Omnibus Emergency Bill With Policing Reforms, Will Be Introduced and Voted on Tuesday

News Release — Ward 6 DC Council member Charles Allen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 4, 2020

Contact: Erik Salmi

At noon today, Councilmember Charles Allen, Chair of the DC Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, circulated draft legislation – the “Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2020” – containing a dozen proposals to improve police accountability and transparency and make our community safer and more just.

“The protests to the murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and cruelly countless others  are evidence of the immediate need to take action,” said Councilmember Allen. “Forceful, yet peaceful demonstration has created this moment, and the Council must act to move the cause forward.” 

Councilmember Allen continued: “Collectively, we have an opportunity and an obligation to try and meet the moment, and working with many of my colleagues, we’ve crafted a strong package. But I want to make clear that this isn’t the end of reforms. The emergency legislation is one act we can take, along with many others through the budget and further legislative reforms.”

Summary of the DRAFT “Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2020”

TITLE I: Improving Police Accountability and Transparency

Subtitle A: Prohibiting the Use of Neck Restraints

• Makes the use of neck restraints (also known as “chokeholds”) by any local law enforcement or special police officer unlawful, in addition to the failure to render, or cause to be rendered, first aid or to request EMS services if a neck restrain was applied (neck restraints are already prohibited by MPD policy, but the current statute permits them in some circumstances).

Subtitle B: Improving Access toBody-Worn Camera Video Recordings

• Prohibits MPD officers from reviewing their body-worn camera (“BWC”) recordings and BWC recordings that have been shared with them to assist in writing initial reports
• Requires the Mayor to release the BWC recording and name of any officer who committed or contributed to an officer-involved death or serious use of force within 72 hours after the incident
• Requires MPD to preserve BWC recordings related to a Council request or investigation
• Requires MPD to provide the Council Committee with jurisdiction over the Department unredacted BWC recordings within 24 hours after a request is made, regardless of the nature of the incident or subjects depicted

Subtitle C: Office of Police Complaints Reforms

• Requires that all members of the Police Complaints Board, the Office of Police Complaints’ governing body, be unaffiliated with law enforcement
• Allows the Executive Director of the Office of Police Complaints to investigate evidence of abuse or misuse of police powers they identify, even though it may not have been specifically alleged in the complaint; this expanded authority expressly includes circumstances in which an officer failed to (1) intervene in or subsequently report any use of force incident in which they observe another officer  — including an MPD officer – using excessive force or engaging in any type of misconduct, or (2) immediately report to their supervisor any violations of MPD rules and regulations committed by any other MPD officer, and each instance of their use of force or a use of force committed by another MPD officer

Subtitle D: Use of Force Review Board Membership Expansion

• Expands the list of Use of Force Review Board voting members to include the Executive Director of the Office of Police Complaints, two civilian members appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council – one who has experienced the use of force by a law enforcement officer and one member of the DC Bar in good standing – and two members appointed by the Council – one with subject matter expertise in criminal justice policy and one with subject matter expertise in law enforcement oversight or the use of force

Subtitle E: Extended Time for Corrective or Adverse Action against MPD Officers in Serious Cases

• Empowers MPD to timely exercise its disciplinary authority in serious cases by extending the time before which the Department must bring a corrective or adverse action against a sworn or civilian employee from 90 to 180 days; applies to cases of either the serious use of force or an incident indicating potential criminal conduct

Subtitle F: Anti-Mask Law Repeal

• Reduces unnecessary interactions with law enforcement by repealing the District’s law criminalizing mask wearing for certain purposes

Subtitle G: Limitations on “Consent” Searches

• Strengthens procedural justice in cases where a police officer’s search of a person or their vehicle, home, or property is based only on the person’s consent to the search – also known as a “consent” search; the officer would have to explain that the person is being asked to consent and that they can refuse the search

Subtitle H: Mandatory Continuing Education Expansion; Reconstituting the Police Officers Standards and Training Board

• Requires continuing education for MPD officers on: racism and white supremacy; limiting the use of force; de-escalation tactics; prohibiting the use of neck restraints; obtaining consent from subjects of police consent searches; and the duty to report and information on how to report suspected misconduct by another law enforcement official or MPD officer
• Revives the long-dormant Police Officers Standards and Training Board (“POST Board”), the District board that establishes minimum application and appointment criteria for MPD officers and reviews MPD’s initial training and continuing education programs
• Expands the POST’s membership to include the Director of the Office of Police Complaints and community representatives appointed by the Mayor with expertise in police oversight, juvenile justice reform, criminal defense, gender-based violence, LGBTQ services, policy, or advocacy, and violence prevention or intervention
• Requires the POST to be stood up with new membership by September 1, 2020
• Requires the POST to establish minimum application and appointment criteria for MPD that includes, for applicants with prior service in another law enforcement or public safety agency, a review of any alleged or sustained misconduct or discipline imposed by their prior employer

Subtitle I: Identification of MPD Officers during First Amendment Assemblies as Local Law Enforcement

• Requires the uniforms and helmets of MPD officers policing First Amendment assemblies to identify the officers as local law enforcement

TITLE II: Building Safe and Just Communities

Subtitle A: Repeal of Law Enforcement Reporting Requirement for Crime Victims Compensation

• Promotes survivor-centered decision-making by repealing the requirement that crime survivors must report the crime they experienced to law enforcement in order to apply for compensation

Subtitle B: Restore the Vote: Enfranchisement for Individuals Serving Felony Sentences in the Care of the Department of Corrections

• Enfranchises individuals currently incarcerated for felonies who are in the Department of Corrections’ care
• Requires the Board of Elections to provide every eligible DOC resident with a voter registration form, voter guide, and mail-in ballot for the November 3 General Election

Subtitle C: Department of Corrections Home Confinement Evaluation Requirement

• Requires the Department of Corrections, as a Bureau of Prisons contracting facility, to evaluate individuals in its custody for home confinement eligibility, pursuant to the authority in federal law and recently expanded in the CARES Act, and report to the Council Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety on its progress