,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #cahf ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,november #ah1 #bjbe,mr4 ,whitehouse 7for himself and ,mr4 ,padilla7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to ensure that the ,united ,states1 ,states1 and local governments are liable for monetary damages for constitutional violations by law enforcement officers4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,constitutional ,accountability ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the #adth ,amendment to the ,constitution of the ,united ,states was passed by ,congress and ratified by the people of the ,united ,states against the backdrop of numerous ,state laws1 policies1 and practices that denied ,african ,americans and others their enjoyment of fundamental rights4 7#b7 ,congress drafted the #adth ,amendment to broadly protect fundamental rights and guarantee equality to all persons4 7#c7 ,to help realize the promise of equality protected in the #adth ,amendment1 ,congress passed section #aigi of the ,revised ,statutes 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aihc7 7referred to in this section as section #aihc71 creating a statutory remedy for violations of the ,constitution of the ,united ,states and ,federal law4 ,according to ,mitchum v4 ,foster1 #djg ,u4,s4 #bbe1 #bdb 7#aigb71 section #aihc was intended to interpose the ,federal courts between the ,states and the people1 as guardians of the people's ,federal rights4 7#d7 ,by creating this remedy1 ,congress recognized that civil suits are a necessary and powerful tool to protect individual rights4 ,suits under section #aihc can not only make whole victims who are wronged4 ,the suits can incentivize actors to take the steps necessary to avoid wrongdoing in the first place4 7#e7 ,unfortunately1 the ,supreme ,court's current crabbed interpretation of section #aihc undermines its ability to accomplish these goals4 7#f7 ,private employers are responsible for the torts of their employees under the doctrine of respondeat superior4 ,the risk of liability incentivizes private employers to effectively hire1 supervise1 train1 and discipline their employees4 7#g7 ,in contrast1 under ,monell v4 ,department of ,social ,services of the ,city of ,new ,york1 #dcf ,u4,s4 #feh 7#aigh71 municipal defendants are not subject to respondeat superior liability for the constitutional torts of their officers4 ,cities may only be held liable for the constitutional torts of their officers only when the plaintiff can show that the violation was the result of a municipal policy or custom4 ,under ,will ,v4 ,michigan ,department of ,state ,police1 #dia ,u4,s4 #eh 7#aihi71 ,states cannot be held liable at all4 7#h7 ,the ,monell doctrine requires judges to resolve difficult questions regarding which officials are policymakers1 whether an official was acting in ,state or local capacity1 and municipalities' training and hiring processes4 7#i7 ,in ,board of ,county ,commissioners v4 ,brown1 #ebj ,u4,s4 #cig1 #dcj 7#aiig71 ,justice ,breyer criticized this highly complex body of interpretive law and called for a reexamination of the legal soundness of the ,monell doctrine4 ,numerous scholars1 as well as other jurists1 have criticized the ,monell doctrine as convoluted1 inconsistent1 arbitrary1 and unintelligible4 7#aj7 ,there is no statutory cause of action for constitutional violations by ,federal officials4 ,victims can only bring their claims if courts infer a cause of action1 which they are increasingly unlikely to do4 7#aa7 ,police officers are regularly called upon to make split-second1 life-or-death decisions4 ,the current liability regime1 however1 is not sufficient to ensure that police departments adequately hire1 train1 supervise1 and discipline their officers so that they can respond to these situations in a constitutional manner4 7#ab7 ,there are over #ah1jjj police departments in the ,united ,states and no uniform standard on how officers should be trained4 ,departments generally require significantly more training on how to deploy force than when it is appropriate to do so4 ,as recently as #bjag1 #cd ,states did not mandate de-escalation training for all officers4 7#ac7 ,a ,national ,public ,radio study of fatal police shootings of unarmed ,black people nationwide found that several officers were involved in multiple shootings without consequences4 ,the same study found that departments hired officers with histories of domestic violence1 as well as officers who were fired or forced out of other police departments due to prior misconduct4 7#ad7 ,according to ,united ,states v4 ,georgia1 #edf ,u4,s4 #aea1 #aeh 7#bjjf71 ,congress has the power under section #e of the #adth ,amendment to the ,constitution of the ,united ,states to provide for direct enforcement of section #a of the #adth ,amendment by creating private remedies1 including ones against the ,states44 7#ae7 ,eliminating restrictions on the liability of ,state and local governments is necessary to ensure that no ,state shall deprive any person of life1 liberty1 or property1 without due process of law2 nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws44 #c4 ,civil actions for deprivation of rights ,section #aigi of the ,revised ,statutes 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aihc7 is amended-- 7#a7 in the first sentence1 by striking ,every and inserting the following3 7a7 ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term person includes-- 7,a7 the ,united ,states2 7,b7 a ,state or ,territory or the ,district of ,columbia2 7,c7 a local government2 7,d7 an agency1 government body1 or any subdivision of the ,united ,states1 a ,state or ,territory or the ,district of ,columbia1 or a local government1 or an entity created by a combination of any of the foregoing2 and 7,e7 an individual or private entity4 7#b7 ,the term law enforcement officer includes any officer of a local government1 or of a ,state or ,territory or the ,district of ,columbia1 or of the ,united ,states1 or an entity created by a combination of any of the foregoing who is empowered by law to execute searches1 to seize evidence1 or to make arrests for violations of law4 7b7 ,every 2 7#b7 in subsection 7b71 as so designated1 in the first sentence1 by inserting the ,united ,states1 before any ,state2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7c7 ,a person is liable under this section for a violation of rights1 privileges1 or immunities secured by the ,constitution and laws committed by an individual who at the time of the violation is employed by the person as1 or contracted by the person to do the work of1 a law enforcement officer4 ,liability under this subsection shall exist without regard to whether such employee or contractor would be immune from liability1 and without regard to whether the employee or contractor was acting pursuant to a policy or custom of the person who is the employer4 7d7 ,pursuant to section #e of the #adth ,amendment1 no ,state shall be immune from suit1 under the ,eleventh ,amendment or other doctrine of ,state sovereign immunity1 for any claims on which subsection 7c7 subjects a person to liability4 7e7 ,for purposes of an action under subsection 7c71 the ,united ,states waives its sovereign immunity4 7f7 ,except as expressly stated1 no provision of this section shall be construed to abolish1 repeal1 or limit the scope of any right of action otherwise available under this section or any other source of law4 4