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SaResearch Service
Congress and Police Reform: Current Law
Updated February 7, 2023
In May and June 2020, protests erupted nationwide after the publication of video footage of a
Minneapolis police officer pressing his knee into the neck of George Floyd, causing his death. That
incident and others like it sparked heightened interest in Congress's ability to implement reforms of state
and local law enforcement. More recently, the January 2023 death of Tyre Nichols after a beating by
Memphis police officers prompted renewed calls for law enforcement reform. This Legal Sidebar
provides an overview of existing federal authorities intended to prevent and redress constitutional
violations by state and local public safety officials. A companion Sidebar presents selected recent
proposals related to federal regulation of federal, state, and local law enforcement.
Federal Regulation of State and Local Law Enforcement
As another Legal Sidebar outlines in greater detail, congressional power to regulate state and local law
enforcement is not without limits. The Constitution grants the federal government only certain authorities,
with the Tenth Amendment reserving all other powers for the states. The regulation of state and municipal
law enforcement is an area that the Constitution generally entrusts to the states. However, Congress
possesses some authority to legislate on that subject, primarily through statutes designed to enforce the
protections of the Fourteenth Amendment and legislation requiring states to take specified action in
exchange for federal funds disbursed under the Spending Clause.
Existing federal remedies for constitutional violations by state and local law enforcement include civil
and criminal enforcement by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and private suits by individuals
deprived of their rights by someone acting under color of' state law. In addition, the federal government
encourages states to enact certain policies related to law enforcement by placing conditions on federal
funding. Federal agencies also independently investigate and gather data on law enforcement activities.
Federal Criminal Law
A provision of the federal criminal code, 18 U.S.C. § 242 (Section 242), makes it a crime for (among
other things) a person acting under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom to
willfully subject[ ] any person ... to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or
protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States[.] As another Legal Sidebar discusses further,
Section 242 also prohibits a person acting under color of law from subjecting any person to different
punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
LSB10486
CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govekmo0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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