Judiciary & Public Safety & Committee of the Whole Public Hearing

Council of the District of Columbia COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY & PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE NOTICE OF JOINT PUBLIC HEARING 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004 COUNCILMEMBER CHARLES ALLEN, CHAIRPERSON COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY & PUBLIC SAFETY AND CHAIRMAN PHIL MENDELSON, CHAIRPERSON COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ANNOUNCE A JOINT PUBLIC HEARING ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE D.C. POLICE REFORM COMMISSION B24-0094, THE “BIAS IN THREAT ASSESSMENTS EVALUATION AMENDMENT ACT OF 2021” B24-0107, THE “METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT REQUIREMENT OF SUPERIOR OFFICER PRESENT AT UNOCCUPIED VEHICLE SEARCH – NO JUMP- OUT SEARCHES ACT OF 2021” B24-0112, THE “WHITE SUPREMACY IN POLICING PREVENTION ACT OF 2021” AND B24-0213, THE “LAW ENFORCEMENT VEHICULAR PURSUIT REFORM ACT OF 2021” Thursday, May 20, 2021, 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Virtual Hearing via Zoom To Watch Live: https://dccouncil.us/council-videos/ http://video.oct.dc.gov/DCC/jw.html https://www.facebook.com/CMcharlesallen/ 1 On Thursday, May 20, 2021, Councilmember Charles Allen, Chairperson of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, and Chairman Phil Mendelson, Chairperson of the Committee of the Whole, will convene a joint public hearing to consider the Recommendations of the D.C. Police Reform Commission; Bill 24-0094, the “Bias in Threat Assessments Evaluation Amendment Act of 2021”; Bill 24-0107, the “Metropolitan Police Department Requirement of Superior Officer Present at Unoccupied Vehicle Search – No Jump-Out Searches Act of 2021”; Bill 24-0112, the “White Supremacy in Policing Prevention Act of 2021”; and Bill 24-0213, the “Law Enforcement Vehicular Pursuit Reform Act of 2021”. The hearing will be conducted virtually via Zoom from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Council established the Police Reform Commission in the summer of 2020 through emergency legislation. The Council charged the Commission with “examin[ing] policing practices in the District and provi[ding] evidence-based recommendations for reforming and revisioning policing in the District”, and specifically, analyzing and making recommendations on sworn and special police officers in District schools, alternatives to police responses, police discipline, the integration of conflict resolution strategies and restorative justice practices into policing, and the provisions of the emergency legislation. The Commission’s members represent a variety of backgrounds, including government agencies, law enforcement, reentry services, labor organizations, educational institutions, criminal justice reform organizations, victim services, the faith community, mental and behavioral health care providers, business, and Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. On April 1, 2021, the Commission issued its final report, Decentering Police to Improve Public Safety: A Report of the D.C. Police Reform Commission, which offers dozens of recommendations. This joint hearing of the Committees will create an opportunity for public comment on the recommendations, which can be found at https://dcpolicereform.com. The hearing will also include consideration of the legislation described below. The stated purpose of B24-0094, the “Bias in Threat Assessments Evaluation Amendment Act of 2021”, is to amend the Attorney General of the District of Columbia Clarification and Elected Term Amendment Act of 2010 to require the Attorney General to conduct a study to determine whether the Metropolitan Police Department engaged in biased policing when they conducted threat assessments of assemblies within the District and to grant the Attorney General subpoena power as needed to carry out the study. The stated purpose of B24-0107, the “Metropolitan Police Department Requirement of Superior Officer Present at Unoccupied Vehicle Search – No Jump-Out Searches Act of 2021”, is to prohibit the Metropolitan Police Department from conducting searches of unoccupied vehicles unless a superior officer is present, all officers present at the search have their body cameras on and functioning, the officer requesting the search provides a verbally stated reason to the superior officer to conduct the search, and the superior officer present at the search is viewed giving verbal authorization to conduct the search, to require a report by an officer present at the search to file the results of the search and that the owner of the vehicle be notified as to why the owner’s vehicle was searched, and to provide that the owner of the vehicle has the right to sue the individual officers not adhering to the requirements of the act in their individual capacities. 2 The stated purpose of B24-0112, the “White Supremacy in Policing Prevention Act of 2021”, is to require the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor to initiate an assessment into any ties between white supremacist or other hate groups and members of the Metropolitan Police Department that suggest an individual cannot enforce the law fairly, and to recommend reforms to Metropolitan Police Department policy, practice, and personnel to better detect and prevent ties to white supremacist or other hate groups in the Department that may prevent fair enforcement of the law in order to increase public trust in the Department and improve officer and public safety. The stated purpose of Bill 24-0213, the “Law Enforcement Vehicular Pursuit Reform Act of 2021”, is to prohibit District of Columbia law enforcement officers from engaging in vehicular pursuits of an individual operating a motor vehicle, unless the officer reasonably believes that the fleeing suspect has committed or has attempted to commit a crime of violence and that the pursuit is necessary to prevent an imminent death or serious bodily injury and is not likely to put others in danger of death or serious bodily injury; and to prohibit the use of dangerous vehicular pursuit practices. The Committees invite the public to provide oral and written testimony. Public witnesses seeking to provide oral testimony at the Committees’ hearing must thoroughly review the following instructions: • Anyone wishing to provide oral testimony must email the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety at judiciary@dccouncil.us with their name, telephone number, and organizational affiliation and title (if any), by the close of business on Friday, May 14, 2021. • The Committees will approve witnesses’ registrations based on the total time allotted for public testimony. The Committees will also determine the order of witnesses’ testimony. • Representatives of organizations will be allowed a maximum of five minutes for oral testimony, and individuals (and any subsequent representatives of the same organizations) will be allowed a maximum of three minutes. • Witnesses are not permitted to yield their time to, or substitute their testimony for, the testimony of another individual or organization. • If possible, witnesses should submit a copy of their testimony electronically in advance to judiciary@dccouncil.us. • Witnesses who anticipate needing language interpretation are requested to inform the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety as soon as possible, but no later than five business days before the hearing. The Committees will make every effort to fulfill timely requests; however, requests received fewer than five business days before the hearing may not be fulfilled. For witnesses who are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements will be made part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be emailed to the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety at judiciary@dccouncil.us no later than the close of business on Friday, May 28, 2021. 3