YourVoice.Now Summary
Transparency & AccountabilityCriminal Justice & Due ProcessCivil LibertiesCreates an independent federal board to investigate police shootings and deaths in custody, with subpoena power and public reports.
Transparency & Accountability
A new federal board of eight members would look into each death in police custody and each police shooting. It would also probe force that badly hurts someone in custody. It could make witnesses testify and take those who refuse to federal court.
Each report would give the demographics (group traits) of the person hurt and of the officers. It would also give the time, the place, why the stop happened, the force used, and any charges.
Anyone who gets the board's advice must say in writing if they will follow it. They must give a timeline, or their reasons for saying no. The board would post the advice and each answer for the public.
The board would tell families what it found before it tells the public. Families could go to its public hearings. The board would also name a contact person and a nonprofit to give counseling. States could not block that counseling for the first 30 days.
Criminal Justice & Due Process
States and cities that take federal Byrne police grants must let board findings be used in court cases about police violence. Juries could hear them. Yet another part of the bill says board reports cannot be used in suits for money damages.
The cut starts the first full budget year after the law passes. The Attorney General decides whether to cut a state's Byrne grant, by 1% to 10%. A state trying in good faith could get 60 more days. Money that is cut goes to states that comply.
Civil Liberties
People in any court case could not demand police body camera or dashboard camera video from the other side. A judge would first have to find the video is needed for a fair trial. Video that is shared must stay inside the case. Video used as evidence is sealed.
Board staff could enter any place where an incident happened or evidence is kept. They must show ID and a written notice. They could check records, test weapons, and order an autopsy. Local laws that protect religious views on autopsies apply only as far as the probe allows.
More about this bill
A new federal board would investigate every death in police custody and every police shooting. It would also look into police force that badly hurts someone in custody. The board would have eight members picked by the President and approved by the Senate. No more than four could come from one party. It could subpoena witnesses, enter the place where an incident happened, test weapons, and order autopsies. Its reports would list who was hurt, which officers were involved, why the stop happened, and how it ended. Police departments and governments that get the board's advice would have to answer in writing within 90 days. They would say whether they plan to follow it. If they refuse, they must explain why. The board would make that advice and every answer public. Families of people killed or badly hurt would get a federal contact person. A nonprofit group would offer them counseling. Families would hear the board's findings before the public does. The Justice Department could point to ignored advice as a sign of a pattern of abuse. States and cities that get federal police grants (Byrne Justice Assistance Grants) would have to change their laws. Board findings would have to be allowed in court. Juries could hear them. Departments would also report each year on what they did with the board's advice. A state that does not comply could lose 1% to 10% of that grant money. This starts the first full budget year after the law passes. Separately, people in court cases could no longer demand police body camera or dashboard camera video. A judge would first have to find the video is needed for a fair trial.
Congressional Summary
National Police Misuse of Force Investigation Board Act of 2025 This bill establishes the National Police Misuse of Force Investigation Board as an independent federal entity. Among other duties, the board must investigate deaths that occur in police custody, officer-involved shootings, and uses of force that result in severe bodily injury in police custody. The board must also report periodically to Congress, federal entities, and state and local governments on recommendations to reduce incidents of misuse of force by law enforcement. The bill requires a state or local government that receives funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program to (1) allow findings and recommendations of the board to be admissible in court, and (2) report on actions taken to address the recommendations of the board. The Department of Justice may reduce allocations to states and local governments that fail to comply with these requirements.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-05-29
- Date Added
- 2026-09-29
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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