Introduction of the Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I, along with Representative Donald S. Beyer Jr., introduce the Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act of 2021. This bill would require uniformed federal law enforcement officers to wear body cameras and federal marked police vehicles to have dashboard cameras. It would also require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on federal police officers' training, vehicle pursuits, use of force and interaction with citizens. Last Congress, we introduced a virtually identical bill, which was included in the House-passed George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020.

After the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the urgency of this bill has become even more apparent. The U.S. Capitol Police tried to stop the mob attack, but without body cameras, we have been forced to rely on social media, cameras in the Capitol and public reporting to learn what happened. The events at Lafayette Square last year, where U.S. Park Police and other federal police officers forcibly removed peaceful protestors so the president could hold a photo op, is another recent example of why our bill is needed.

On November 17, 2017, Bijan Ghaisar was fatally shot in his car by uniformed U.S. Park Police officers in Fairfax County, Virginia, after a vehicle pursuit on the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Video of this shooting only became available through a camera in a Fairfax County Police Department patrol car that was providing backup. Had it not been for that footage, which was recorded and released by that local police department, the public would not have had access to the circumstances surrounding Mr. Ghaisar's death. Moreover, the footage revealed concerns about the Park Police's pursuit and engagement policies.

Body and dashboard cameras for federal law enforcement officers are particularly important for the officers stationed in the nation's capital, where the Park Police and the uniformed division of the U.S. Secret Service have full local police powers. Many other federal police departments also have local police powers near their respective agency buildings in the District of Columbia. Cameras can increase transparency for individual interactions with police, strengthen public trust and even deter future criminal behavior. For example, when criminals know that they are being recorded by a dashboard camera, they may be less likely to flee the scene of a traffic accident because they realize that their license plate will be documented. Criminals may also be less likely to batter an officer because the recording may be used as evidence. On the other hand, officers will also be less likely to commit offenses for the same reason. Body and dashboard cameras can also be used to train current and future officers more effectively in best and worst practices.

An increasing number of local police departments, including the Metropolitan Police Department in the District, are using body and dashboard cameras. It is clear that both law enforcement and the public would benefit from federal police departments following suit to increase transparency and maintain public trust.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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