,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gghd  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #bd1 #bjbj,miss
 ,rice of ,new ,york 7for herself and   
,mr4 ,pappas7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs  ,a   
,,bill  ,to amend title #ch1 ,united    
,states ,code1 to improve the staffing1 
transparency1 and accountability of the 
law enforcement operations of the       
,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 and  
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,,va     
,police ,improvement and ,accountability
 ,act4  #b4 ,improvements to            
transparency of law enforcement         
operations of ,department of ,veterans  
,affairs  7a7 ,contact and information  
,section #ijb of title #ch1 ,united     
,states ,code1 is amended by adding at  
the end the following new subsection3   
7e7 7#a7 ,the ,secretary shall ensure   
that each police force of a facility of 
the ,department designates an employee  

of the ,department to serve as a point  
of contact for other employees and for  
the public with respect to1 at a        
minimum-- 7,a7 statistical information  
regarding-- 7i7 arrests made by and     
tickets issued by ,department police    
officers at such facility2  7ii7        
prosecutions1 ticketing1 and other      
actions relating to such arrests2 and   
7iii7 the use of force and weapons      
discharge2  7,b7 complaints and         
investigations regarding ,department    
police officers at such facility2 and   
7,c7 providing information to an        
individual 7or the representative1      
attorney1 or authorized agent of the    
individual7 regarding the arrest1       
ticketing1 detainment1 use of force1 or 
other police matters pertaining to that 
individual1 including any relevant court
 proceedings or other legal actions4    
7#b7 ,the ,secretary shall make         
available on the public internet website
 of each facility covered by paragraph  
7#a7 the following information3 7,a7    

,the statistical information under      
subparagraph 7,a7 of such paragraph4    
7,b7 ,how to contact the point of       
contact4  7,c7 ,general information     
regarding how an individual 7or the     
representative1 attorney1 or authorized 
agent of the individual7 may receive    
information regarding the arrest1       
ticketing1 detainment1 use of force1 or 
other police matters pertaining to that 
individual by ,department police        
officers at such facility 7or by other  
,federal1 ,state1 or local law          
enforcement officers at the request of  
,department police officers71 including 
with respect to any subsequent court    
proceedings4  4  7b7 ,improved training 
7#a7 ,training ,the ,secretary of       
,veterans ,affairs shall provide to     
,department police officers annual      
training on-- 7,a7 recognizing1         
defining1 understanding1 and avoiding   
racial profiling and implicit bias and  
best practices regarding the duty to    
intervene2 and  7,b7 preventing suicide 

among the population served by the      
police officers4  7#b7 ,curriculum ,in  
carrying out paragraph 7#a71 the        
,secretary shall improve any similar    
training provided before the date of the
 enactment of this ,act1 including by   
ensuring that the curriculum for the    
training addresses1 at a minimum1 the   
following3 7,a7 ,effective behavioral   
science procedures for suicide          
prevention and risk mitigation4  7,b7   
,crisis intervention and de-escalation  
skills1 including through the use of    
interactive training4  7,c7 ,information
 about mental health and substance abuse
 disorders4  7,d7 ,information about    
local law enforcement crisis            
intervention teams and other resources  
for veterans experiencing mental health 
crises available by the ,department of  
,veterans ,affairs1 other elements of   
the ,federal ,government1 and the       
community in which the police officers  
serve4  7#c7 ,consultation ,the         
,secretary shall ensure that the annual 

training provided under paragraph 7#a7  
to ,department police officers at a     
medical facility of the ,department is  
provided in consultation with law       
enforcement accreditation organizations 
and the mental health experts at such   
facility4  7#d7 ,plan on community      
partnerships ,the ,secretary shall      
ensure that each police force of a      
facility of the ,department develops a  
plan to enter into partnerships with--  
7,a7 local community mental health      
organizations and experts1 local        
community veterans organizations1 and   
local community criminal justice        
organizations and experts2 and  7,b7    
local police departments1 including by  
facilitating the sharing of training    
resources with crisis intervention teams
 of the local police departments4  7#e7 
,report ,not later than one year after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary shall submit to the      
,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of   
the ,house of ,representatives and the  

,senate a report on the improved        
training under paragraph 7#a71          
including-- 7,a7 a description of the   
curriculum of such training2  7,b7 with 
respect to the year preceding the date  
of the report-- 7i7 the number of       
facilities of the ,department that      
conducted such training2  7ii7 the      
number of ,department police officers   
who received such training2 and  7iii7  
any barriers to ensuring that each      
,department police officer receives such
 training2  7,c7 any recommendations to 
address the barriers identified under   
subparagraph 7,b77iii72 and  7,d7 the   
number of facilities of the ,department 
that have established partnerships under
 paragraph 7#c74  7c7 ,use of body      
cameras by ,department police officers  
7#a7 ,requirement  7,a7 ,in general     
,department police officers shall wear a
 body camera that-- 7i7 has a field of  
view at least as broad as the officer's 
vision2 and  7ii7 is worn in a manner   
that maximizes the camera's ability to  

capture video footage of the officer's  
activities4  7,b7 ,activation ,both the 
video and audio recording functions of  
the body camera shall be activated      
whenever a ,department police officer is
 responding to a call for service or at 
the initiation of any other law         
enforcement or investigative stop       
between a ,department police officer and
 a member of the public1 except that    
when an immediate threat to the         
officer's life or safety makes          
activating the camera impossible or     
dangerous1 or in instances relating to  
health care privacy pursuant to         
paragraph 7#b77;,c77iv71 the officer    
shall activate the camera at the first  
reasonable opportunity to do so4  7,c7  
,exception ,the body camera shall not be
 deactivated until the stop has fully   
concluded and the ,department police    
officer leaves the scene4  7,d7 ,law    
enforcement or investigative stop       
defined ,in this paragraph1 the term law
 enforcement or investigative stop means

 an action by a ,department police      
officer in relation to enforcement and  
investigation duties1 including traffic 
stops1 pedestrian stops1 abandoned      
vehicle contacts1 requests for          
identification1 or responses to requests
 for emergency assistance4  7#b7        
,guidance ,the ,secretary shall issue1  
and make publicly available1 guidance on
 the use of body cameras by ,department 
police officers4 ,the ,secretary shall  
ensure that such guidance-- 7,a7        
requires that ,department police        
officers wear and use body cameras      
pursuant to paragraph 7#a72  7,b7 is    
consistent with upholding the civil     
rights and the privacy of patients of   
medical facilities of the ,department of
 ,veterans ,affairs1 the public1 and    
employees of the ,department2 and  7,c7 
describes the policies and procedures of
 the ,department with respect to such   
use of body cameras1 including with     
respect to-- 7i7 the safe and effective 
use of body cameras and the resulting   

imagery1 including operational issues   
such as when a body camera is activated 
and deactivated2  7ii7 the secure       
storage1 handling1 and destruction of   
recorded data collected by a body       
camera2  7iii7 the retention of recorded
 data collected by a body camera2  7iv7 
protecting the privacy rights of an     
individual who may be recorded by a body
 camera1 including with respect to      
instances of an individual being treated
 in a medical facility of the           
,department or in other instances       
requiring health care privacy2  7v7     
release of1 and access to1 any recorded 
data collected by a body camera1 in     
accordance with relevant open-records   
laws of the ,state in which the body    
camera is used2 and  7vi7 making        
recorded data collected by a body camera
 available to prosecutors1 defense      
attorneys1 and other officers of a      
court4  7#c7 ,consultation ,the         
,secretary shall issue the guidance     
under paragraph 7#b7 in consultation    

with veterans service organizations1    
civil rights organizations1 law         
enforcement organizations1 law          
enforcement accreditation organizations1
 privacy rights organizations1 and other
 relevant organizations or experts4     
7#d7 ,report ,not later than #ahj days  
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to the
 ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of  
the ,house of ,representatives and the  
,senate a report containing the         
following3 7,a7 ,a review of past and   
current use of body cameras by          
,department police officers4  7,b7 ,a   
description of the implementation of    
this subsection4  7,c7 ,the guidance    
issued under paragraph 7#b74  7,d7 ,a   
review of the use of security cameras at
 facilities of the ,department1         
including an analysis of-- 7i7 the      
number of such cameras that are         
operational and the number that are not 
operational2  7ii7 the number of        
employees and contractors of the        

,department who operate and maintain the
 security of such cameras2 and  7iii7   
the number of such employees and        
contractors that is necessary to ensure 
that such cameras are properly operated 
and maintained to ensure that such      
facilities are observed4  7d7 ,report on
 staffing1 training1 and data systems   
,not later than #ahj days after the date
 of the enactment of this ,act1 the     
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' 
,affairs of the ,house of               
,representatives and the ,senate a      
report that includes the following3 7#a7
 ,an assessment of the hiring needs of  
the police force of the ,department of  
,veterans ,affairs1 including-- 7,a7    
identification of-- 7i7 the number of   
,department police officers as of the   
date of the report2  7ii7 the number of 
,department police officers that the    
,secretary determines necessary to meet 
the needs of the ,department2 and  7iii7
 the amount of turnover among           

,department police officers2  7,b7 an   
analysis of the staffing requirements to
 appropriately provide the improved     
training under subsection 7b72  7,c7 a  
discussion of how the compensation for  
,department police officers affects such
 needs and turnover2 and  7,d7 a        
comparison of such compensation with the
 compensation provided to specialty     
police units1 such as police units at   
medical facilities and other police     
units in the region4  7#b7 ,a discussion
 with respect to developing a plan for  
improving police data systems and       
,department-wide systems for tracking   
and analyzing incidents1 arrests1       
ticketing1 prosecutions1 and occurrences
 of the use of force4  7e7 ,department  
police officer defined ,in this section1
 the term ,department police officer    
means an employee of the ,department of 
,veterans ,affairs described in section 
#ijb7;a7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states  
,code4