Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act of 2015 (Federal)

     (a)  UNIVERSAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. All policing jurisdictions shall report the following information every twelve months to the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") in the manner that agency shall prescribe by rule:

(1)  The name, address, race, ethnicity and occupation (if known) of any person injured or killed by a firearm, taser, or other weapon designed to cause physical injury to, or which is used to subdue or control, persons, and which was fired by an officer of that policing jurisdiction.
(2)  The name, address, race, ethnicity and rank of any officer who has shot or tazed a person with a gun or taser or other weapon designed to cause physical injury to, or which is used to subdue or control, persons during the preceding twelve months.
(3)  Whether the police action described in subsection (1) of this section resulted in death, injury or medical treatment, specifying which, if any.
(4)  The filing and disposition of any criminal or civil matters related to the use of force.
(5)  The result of any internal investigation, including punishment, if any, meted out.
(6)  The language minority status of any persons involved.
(7)  Whether that officer has shot another person during his or her career as a police officer. If so, provide each instance, including, date, policing jurisdiction, reason for use of force, disposition of person targeted (legally and medically), and the disposition of any related criminal or civil matters.
(8)  The number of shots fired at any person by any weapon during the course of police activities in the policing jurisdiction, including the type of weapon.
(9)  The number of target or practice shots taken by the policing jurisdiction for training purposes during the preceding 12 months.
(10) The number of full-time and part-time employees of the policing jurisdiction.
(11) The number of times a police officer in the policing jurisdiction complained of physical injury requiring medical treatment because of interaction with the public in the course of police activities during the preceding twelve months.
(12) The number of times a person or his or her representative in the policing jurisdiction complained of physical injury requiring medical treatment or death because of interaction with officers in that policing jurisdiction in the course of police activities during the preceding twelve months.
(13) The number of felony arrests in the jurisdiction, including the race, ethnicity and language minority status of the arresting officer and the person arrested.
(14) The number of misdemeanor arrests in the jurisdiction, including the race, ethnicity and language minority status of the arresting officer and the person arrested.
(15) The number of other arrests in the jurisdiction, including the race, ethnicity and language minority status of the arresting officer and the person arrested.
(16) The number of traffic stops in the jurisdiction, including the race, ethnicity and language minority status of the officer involved and the person stopped.
(17) The number of Terry stops in the jurisdiction, including the race, ethnicity and language minority status of the officer involved and the person stopped.
(18) The racial, ethnic and minority language breakdown of the policing jurisdiction by percentage.
(19) The percentage of police patrol vehicles fitted with working dash cams used in the policing jurisdiction during the preceding twelve months.
(20) The percentage of patrol officers fitted with working body cams used in the policing jurisdiction during the preceding twelve months.

     (b)  To encourage accurate and prompt reporting, it is expressly provided that the report of any policing jurisdiction prepared pursuant to this Act may not be used as evidence against any individual police officer or officers in any civil, or administrative proceeding. Provided, however, that any information contained in the report that can be obtained elsewhere shall not be subject to this restriction.

     (c)  ONE-TIME UNIVERSAL REPORTING REQUIREMENT. All policing jurisdictions shall report the items described above in (a)(1)-(18) for each of the preceding five years to the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") in the manner that agency shall prescribe by rule.

     (d)  Each Section 1 report will be signed by the police unit's commanding officer and, based upon information and belief, sworn to be true and correct. Failure to comply with the universal reporting requirements described above shall subject that policing jurisdiction to designation as a Federal Over-Policed Rights Act Jurisdiction and subject it to forfeiture of any or all federal funding or equipment. The Department of Justice shall have the authority to enforce Section 1 of this Act.

     (e)  The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall report the information provided pursuant to subsections (a)(1)-(18) each year to the public.

     (f)  DEFINITIONS."Policing jurisdiction" shall include all state and local law enforcement entities of any size, including any officers privately contracted to provide law enforcement services by a political subdivision. "Weapon" or "other weapon" shall include any weapon used to subdue or inflict damage to a person.

     (a)  A natural person of the United States residing in a policing jurisdiction shall have the right to file an action in federal court seeking a declaration that the policing jurisdiction in which the complainant resides is an over-policed jurisdiction as that term is defined in Section 2(b) of this Act. Venue shall lie in the district of the complaining party's residence.

     (b) As used in this section, an over-policed jurisdiction is one that has shown a long-standing pattern of abuse, brutality or racial or language minority animus of at least eighteen month's duration. Any party who brings an action pursuant to Section 2(a) may show a long-standing pattern of abuse, brutality or racial or language minority animus using the information provided in Section 1 herein or any other reliable statistics which demonstrate that the policing jurisdiction has violated the Equal Protection rights of those in their jurisdiction by arresting, stopping, harming, detaining, issuing citations against, failing to hire, property seizures of, killing or assaulting members of a racial, ethnic, minority language group or other suspect class in a statistically significant greater percentage than that group is represented in that jurisdiction's population. A party who brings an action pursuant to Section 2(a) of this Act may make this showing without proof of willful action by the policing jurisdiction.

     (c)  STANDING AND WAIVER OF FEES. By virtue of a person's residence in a jurisdiction and status as a member of the allegedly aggrieved racial, ethnic or language minority class, he or she is deemed to have standing to sue. Every person in a jurisdiction is affected in one way or another by the policing carried out there. Filing fees and any trial or witness fees for this action are waived. Complainant will be responsible for any fees necessary to effectuate Service of Process on the policing jurisdiction. The Complaint and all subsequent pleadings will be prepared and argued by an attorney in good standing in that federal district and follow current federal rules of civil procedure except as described herein or amended for good cause by the federal district court.  

     (d)  JURISDICTION; EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE OR OTHER REMEDIES. The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction of proceedings instituted pursuant to this Act and shall exercise the same without regard to whether a person asserting rights under the provisions herein shall have exhausted any administrative or other remedies that may be provided by law. Trial will proceed before the judge without a jury.

     (e)  SPEEDY TRIAL PROVISION. A hearing and disposition of this matter shall occur within six months after the policing jurisdiction has filed its Answer. The parties shall provide expedited discovery. No later than one month after the policing jurisdiction has filed its Answer, the court shall convene the parties to discuss discovery and case management. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 sanctions shall apply to all proceedings herein, as will the inherent contempt powers of the court. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12 shall not, except that a policing jurisdiction may file a Motion to Dismiss if the complainant is not a resident of the jurisdiction.  

     (f)  CONSOLIDATION OF CASES. The court may consolidate multiple independent complaints for hearing. One continuance of no more than one month's duration may be granted by the court for good cause shown.  

     (g)  At the election of the Attorney General, the Department of Justice may enter the suit on behalf of the Complainant; however, if the Complainant voices an objection, he or she will be allowed to proceed with the Department of Justice appearing as a friend of the court, or the Department of Justice may withdraw, if it elects to do so. At any time during the proceedings and after adjudication, the Attorney General may appoint a local or state government authority as its designee to appear at hearings and receive reports and take all actions available to the Attorney General and Department of Justice under this Act. The designee will be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenditures.

     (h) If the court, after hearing, finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the policing jurisdiction has had a long-standing pattern of abuse, brutality or racial or language minority animus, which may be proved statistically and without direct evidence of intentional malice, then the court shall designate that policing jurisdiction as a Federal Over-Policed Rights Act jurisdiction. The policing jurisdiction may appeal, but there shall be no stay of this Act pending appeal. The complainant shall also have the right to appeal.

     (a)  PENALTIES, CONDITIONS AND PROBATION. This Act is not intended to limit the authority of a federal district court judge to tailor his or her order to a given situation. However, a designation as an Over-Policed Rights Act jurisdiction shall, at a minimum, result in the following, unless good cause is shown:

          (1)  The court shall appoint volunteer observers of good moral character who reside in the jurisdiction to monitor the policing jurisdiction as described herein.      
          (2)  The specific reporting requirements for an Over-Policed Rights Act jurisdiction, as described below, shall be enforced.
          (3)  The Over-Policed Rights Act jurisdiction shall forfeit all federal "militarized" hardware, including only vehicles and weapons.
          (4)  The policing jurisdiction shall be subject to audits at any time by the Department of Justice or the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
          (5)  The policing jurisdiction shall designate a person to act as liaison between the unit and the federal court system, the Department of Justice and any volunteer observer organizations.
          (6)  If the court finds a long-standing pattern of abuse, brutality or racial or language minority animus regarding the police unit's temporary detention of arrestees, then the court will order all police personnel in the holding facility to wear body cameras and shall consider ordering (i) twenty-four hour video monitoring in cell areas, (ii) the employment of additional officers, including those trained in first aid, (iii) specific changes to detention protocols, (iv) the employment of Spanish-speaking (or other language of need) officers, (v) physical changes or additions to the facilities, and (vi) the use of volunteer observers in or around the cell area.  
          (7)  The court should consider the effectiveness of body cameras for all officers on patrol and their supervisors. If certain geographic areas have presented particular problems and others have not, the court shall order that police officers use body cameras in the problem areas.
          (8)  The court shall order that any officer in the policing jurisdiction involved in using his or her weapon against a person shall have a blood screen to include testing for illegal substances including steroids as soon as possible and no later than four hours after the event.
          (9)  The court shall audit the public complaint system used by the policing jurisdiction and require changes if necessary.
          (10) The court shall ensure that the policing jurisdiction has a Citizens' Review Board in place.

     (b)  Volunteer observers shall be authorized to—

          (1) enter and attend at any place in which officers of the policing jurisdiction are conducting official business for the purpose of observing and documenting; provided, however, that the court may order that certain investigations involving organized crime or other matters shall not be subject to volunteer observation; and
          (2) ride along in any police cruiser or other police conveyance.
          (3) may carry and use video cameras or any other reasonable recording device.
          (4) observe and report to the Attorney General or the appropriate designee, and if requested, to the court. Observers are directed to observe only, and if any problems occur, either the observer or the police unit may report same to the court.  
          (5) Video or other recordings, including written reports made by volunteer observers shall be maintained by the Department of Justice or its designee.  

     (c)  The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall make available training materials for use by the Volunteer Observers.

     (d)  REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. In addition to the Universal Reporting Requirements described above, an Over-Policed Rights Act jurisdiction shall also meet the following reporting requirements and provide to the DOJ or its designee—

          (1) a description of every instance in which an officer during the performance of his or her professional duties unholsters a weapon of any kind in preparation for its use on any person;
          (2) a description of any assault or battery committed by any officer of the policing jurisdiction during his or her professional duties;
          (3) a list of all incidents in which a police encounter escalates. This would include any situation in which a resisting arrest charge, or that policing jurisdiction's equivalent, is the most serious charge filed against a person;  
          (4) a list of all injuries suffered by arrestees or detainees or persons released, including those observable injuries that were not caused by, or occurred during, the arrest or detainment;
          (5) any lists or reports required by the court tailored to the court's findings or any reasonable requests of the DOJ or designee. The final arbiter of reasonableness for the purposes of this Act will be the court;
          (6) a list of any significant changes to department or unit procedures or protocols;
          (7) a copy of all blood screens conducted pursuant to subsection (a)(8);
          (8) and a videotape (including audio) of every interrogation conducted by officers of the policing jurisdiction or by anyone at the behest of the policing jurisdiction.  

     (e)  ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES. An officer of an Over-Policed Rights Act jurisdiction who fails to report an action as described in Section 3(c)(1)-(4) commits a felony. An Over-Policed Rights Act jurisdiction that fails to report as provided for in Section 3(c)(5)-(8) is subject to contempt and the contempt powers of the federal court. The Department of Justice or its designee may investigate any instance involving an unholstered weapon, an assault or a battery, and it or its designee shall investigate every instance in which shots were fired, a taser employed or other weapon used at a person.

     (a)  PETITION FOR TERMINATION. After the expiration of one year or any longer term set by the court, the policing jurisdiction may petition the court for relief from the designation as a Federal Over-Policed Rights Act jurisdiction.

     (b)  If by a preponderance of the evidence the court finds that the policing jurisdiction has followed the terms of its order and the strictures of this Act, has implemented any and all reasonable and narrowly-tailored recommendations made by the Department of Justice, and if the court finds that the police unit has been positively changed and is now focused on proper policing techniques, then the court shall lift the Federal Over-Policed Rights Act designation. In the alternative, the court may designate a reasonable term of probation if certain requirements have yet to be met.

     (a)  MISCELLANEOUS. Appropriations for this act will come from the Department of Justice's General Fund every year without vote. Provided, however, the Department of Justice may use funds obtained pursuant to 28 U.S. Code § 524(c). The Attorney General shall transmit to Congress a report indicating the disposition of any § 524(c) funds used hereunder in the same manner as that Section provides. This Act may be cited as "The Michael Brown Federal Over-Policed Rights Act of 2015."

     (b)  If any provision of this Act or the application of it to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of this Act and the application of its provisions to other persons not similarly situated or to other circumstances shall not be affected thereby.