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1 1 (June 24, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdwzy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: r~~w Con arers Reflsearch Service Regulating Federal Law Enforcement: Considerations for Congress June 24, 2020 In the wake of unrest arising from the May 2020 death of George Floyd, broader questions have arisen regarding Congress's authority to regulate law enforcement officers. While federalism principles limit the extent to which Congress may pass laws directly affecting state and local police officers, Congress has broader authority to regulatefederal law enforcement officers and agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), or the Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This Sidebar explores the existing criminal, administrative, and civil remedies that impose liability on federal law enforcement officials for claims of excessive use of force, including those brought under the Biv ens doctrine and the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). It then concludes by discussing considerations for Congress regarding further regulation of federal law enforcement officials. Current Law Regulating Federal Law Enforcement Existing federal laws provide a number of criminal, administrative, and civil remedies for holding law enforcement officers and agencies accountable for misconduct. Federal Criminal Law Perhaps the most stringent way to regulate the behavior of federal law enforcement officials is through criminal law. The chief criminal law regulating not only federal law enforcement officials, but state and locals ones as well, is 18 U.S.C. § 242 (Section 242)-described more in depth in this Sidebar. In relevant part, that statute makes it a crime for a person acting under the color of law to deprive someone of their constitutionally protected rights. Under the color of law means that an individual is acting using power given to him or her by a governmental agency, and it is irrelevant whether the actor is exceeding his or her rightful power. Moreover, the Supreme Court has explained that to successfully prosecute an alleged offender-such as a police officer-under Section 242, the Department of Justice (DOJ) must show that the defendant had a specific intent to deprive a person of a federal right made definite by decision or other rule of law. According to the DOJ, which enforces Section 242, examples of misconduct prosecuted under the statute include excessive force, sexual assault, intentional false arrests, theft, or the intentional fabrication of evidence resulting in a loss of liberty to another. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10500 CRS Lega Sidebar Prepared for Membersand C o m m i eeso f C o ng ress ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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