Introduction of the Police Training and Independent Review Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of The Police Training and Independent Review Act, which I introduced earlier today with colleague Lacy Clay of Missouri.

If enacted, the Police Training and Independent Review Act would help ensure the independent investigation and prosecution of law enforcement officers in cases involving their use of deadly force. It would also provide sensitivity training for law enforcement officers.

America received a wakeup call last year in Ferguson, Missouri. It received another in Staten Island, New York.

It received yet another in Cleveland, Ohio, and then North Charleston, South Carolina, and more recently in Baltimore.

Our nation faces sobering questions about the basic fairness of our criminal justice system. And we face sobering questions about race. These questions simply cannot be ignored.

For too many, for too long, justice has seemed too lacking.

Precisely how long, and for how many--these are numbers we ought to know, and it is shameful that we do not. The fact that police departments are not required to report data about when, where and against whom they use deadly force is absurd. Even FBI Director James Comey has said it is, ``ridiculous that [he] can't tell you how many people were shot by the police last week, last month, last year.''

Last year, and again earlier this year, I introduced the National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act to address this. The legislation would give both lawmakers and the public the numbers we need to measure the problem, so we can figure out how best to address it.

However, I rise today to talk about another equally important step we can take, right now, that does not require us to wait for more data. We can remove the looming cloud of doubt that hangs over too many instances in which law enforcement officers use deadly force against unarmed individuals.

We can stop asking local prosecutors to investigate the same law enforcement officers with whom they work so closely, and whose relationships they rely upon to perform their daily responsibilities.

This is an obvious conflict of interest, and if we are serious about restoring a sense of fairness and justice, we must remove this conflict immediately.

To be sure, the vast majority of prosecutors and law enforcement officers are well meaning, dedicated public servants, and we depend upon them to keep us safe from criminals. And they have dangerous jobs, as we have seen all too frequently in recent months.

But the fact remains that some police departments don't vet their patrolmen well enough. Some allow wealthy supporters to be reserve officers where judgment is lacking and some don't provide all appropriate training. There are also some officers who go beyond the law in a callous disregard for due process.

While we have seen charges against officers in North Charleston and in Baltimore, the question remains: would they have been prosecuted if we didn't have video of the events in question?

According to a recent Washington Post investigation, there have been, ``thousands of fatal shootings at the hands of police since 2005, [and] only 54 officers have been charged. Most were cleared or acquitted in the cases that have been resolved.''

I can't stand here today and tell you whether each of these prosecutors was biased. But what I can tell you is that there is a perception of unfairness in certain kinds of cases, and that perception is poisoning the public trust.

But we can fix this problem.

The Police Training and Independent Review Act would give states a reason to do what they should already be doing: require the use of independent prosecutors when there is an obvious conflict of interest. If states refuse to use independent prosecutors for cases against law enforcement officers involving their use of deadly force, they lose federal funding, which can make up a significant portion of their budgets.

I urge my colleagues to help pass this legislation quickly, and help restore some much needed faith in our criminal justice system.

I want to thank my colleague Lacy Clay for his partnership on this bill. He is a tireless advocate on these issues, and I am honored to work with him.

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