Introduction of the Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act of 2025
Floor Speech
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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I, along with Representative Donald S. Beyer Jr., introduce the Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act of 2025. This bill would require federal law enforcement officers to wear body cameras and marked federal law enforcement vehicles to have dashboard cameras. It would also require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on federal law enforcement officers' training, vehicle pursuits, use of force and interaction with the public. In the 116th and 117th Congresses, the House passed this bill as part of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Cameras can increase transparency, strengthen public trust and even deter criminal behavior. With the surge of federal law enforcement officers in the District of Columbia this month, this bill has become even more important.
We first introduced this bill after Bijan Ghaisar was fatally shot on November 17, 2017, in his car by 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 D.C., where the Park Police and the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division have full local police powers. Many other federal law enforcement agencies also have local police powers near their respective agency buildings in D.C.
In 2022, President Biden issued an executive order (E.O.) requiring federal law enforcement agencies to use body cameras. President Trump rescinded this E.O.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
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