George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2025

This section lowers the criminal intent standard for prosecuting law enforcement officers under 18 U.S.C. 242 from "willfully" to "knowingly or recklessly." It also clarifies that an act resulting in death is one that was a "substantial factor" contributing to the death, and removes the death penalty as a possible sentence.

This section amends 42 U.S.C. 1983 to explicitly remove qualified immunity as a defense in civil actions against local law enforcement officers and federal investigative or law enforcement officers. It states that good faith belief or the lack of clearly established law at the time of the conduct shall not be a defense.

This section grants the Attorney General subpoena authority for pattern and practice investigations into law enforcement misconduct. It also explicitly authorizes State Attorneys General to bring civil actions for such violations and grants them similar subpoena power. Additionally, it prohibits states/local governments receiving Byrne or COPS grants from entering into contracts (including collective bargaining agreements) that prevent the Attorney General from enforcing equitable relief or conflict with consent decrees. It also authorizes $100,000,000 for grants to states for these investigations.

This section establishes a grant program ($750,000,000 authorized) for States and Indian Tribes to implement statutes requiring independent investigations of law enforcement officers' use of deadly force resulting in death or injury. It defines "independent investigation" to include various mechanisms like civilian review boards, state attorney general involvement, or independent prosecutors. It also amends the COPS grant program to allow funding for developing and creating civilian review boards.

This section requires the Attorney General to develop uniform accreditation standards for law enforcement agencies, focusing on community accountability, guardian mentality, early warning systems, use of force, civilian review, data collection, and recruitment. It mandates that states/local governments use at least 5% of Byrne grant funds to help agencies gain/maintain accreditation and makes Department of Justice discretionary grant funding contingent on requiring agencies to maintain accreditation.

This section mandates the Attorney General to establish a National Police Misconduct Registry within 180 days. The registry will contain data on complaints (credible, pending, unfounded), discipline, terminations, certification records, lawsuits, and resignations under investigation for all federal and local law enforcement officers. It requires federal agencies to report every 6 months and states receiving Byrne grants to report every 180 days. The registry will be publicly searchable for misconduct records involving use of force or racial profiling, with privacy protections.

This section requires states and Indian Tribes receiving Byrne grants to report quarterly to the Attorney General on incidents involving deadly force against civilians, shootings of officers, officer deaths/arrests, other uses of force, deaths in custody, and uses of force in arrests/booking. The report must include demographic data (race, ethnicity, age, gender, disability, housing status) of civilians, incident details, type of force, reason for force, injuries, officer efforts to de-escalate, and reasons for not de-escalating. States failing to comply face up to a 10% reduction in Byrne funds.

This section explicitly prohibits any law enforcement agent or agency from engaging in racial profiling, defined as relying to any degree on actual or perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation in routine investigatory activities, unless there is trustworthy information linking a person with a particular characteristic to an identified criminal incident or scheme. It creates a civil action for declaratory or injunctive relief for individuals injured by racial profiling.

This section amends the Controlled Substances Act to require federal law enforcement officers to provide notice of their authority and purpose before executing a search warrant in drug cases. It also makes states and local governments ineligible for COPS grant program funds if they do not have a law prohibiting the issuance of no-knock warrants in drug cases.

This section defines "chokehold or carotid hold" and makes states and local governments ineligible for Byrne or COPS grant funds if they do not have a law prohibiting their use by law enforcement officers. It also amends 18 U.S.C. 242 (deprivation of rights under color of law) to explicitly classify the application of such holds as a "punishment, pain, or penalty," making it a civil rights violation.

This section establishes strict new standards for federal law enforcement officers' use of force. It prohibits less lethal force unless "necessary and proportional" and reasonable alternatives have been exhausted. Deadly force is prohibited unless "necessary, as a last resort," to prevent imminent serious bodily injury or death, creates no substantial risk to third persons, and reasonable alternatives have been exhausted. It requires verbal warnings when feasible and provides guidance for interacting with vulnerable populations. It also limits the justification defense for officers in federal homicide cases if their force was inconsistent with these standards or if their gross negligence contributed to the necessity of force. States/local governments must enact similar laws to receive Byrne grants.

This section amends 10 U.S.C. 2576a (the 1033 program) to significantly restrict the types of military equipment transferred from the Department of Defense to federal, tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. It bans the transfer of firearms, ammunition, bayonets, grenade launchers, grenades (including stun and flash-bang), explosives, most vehicles (except passenger cars and bucket trucks), drones, combat-configured aircraft, and silencers. It also adds new conditions for transfers, including community notification and local governing body approval, and requires 100% accountability for controlled property.

This section mandates that federal law enforcement officers wear body cameras and activate them during calls for service or investigatory stops. It requires officers to notify subjects of recording and allows deactivation in private residences (without warrant), with crime victims, or anonymous reporters if requested. It prohibits facial recognition technology and limits use for intelligence gathering. Footage retention is 6 months, with longer retention (3 years) for use-of-force incidents or complaints. It also sets rules for public disclosure and prohibits officers from reviewing footage before initial reports in certain cases.

This section amends the Byrne grant program to require states/local governments to use at least 5% of their grant funds to develop policies and protocols for body-worn cameras. It sets requirements for these programs, including community input, secure data storage, privacy protections, and public release of data (consistent with state open records laws). It prohibits facial recognition technology and mandates statistical data collection on use of force, complaints, and camera use. It also limits the use and transfer of recorded data to misconduct investigations, crime evidence, or limited training.

This section amends 18 U.S.C. 2243 to criminalize sexual acts by any person acting under color of law with an individual in their custody (including arrest or detention), making it punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment. Crucially, it explicitly states that consent is not a defense in such prosecutions.

This section makes states and local governments ineligible for COPS grant program funds if they do not have a law criminalizing sexual acts by persons acting under color of law with individuals in custody, and if their law does not prohibit consent as a defense. It also requires states/local governments receiving COPS grants to report annually on reports and dispositions of such sexual misconduct cases.