Senators call for mandatory reporting to DOJ on police shootings

theGRIO REPORT - Senators Barbara Boxer of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey proposed legislation that would require all states submit data to the US Department of Justice on the age, gender and race of anyone shot, injured, or killed by law enforcement officers.

Richard Scott Brookshire III

Jun 3, 2015

Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) proposed legislation Tuesday hat would require all states to submit data to the U.S. Department of Justice on the age, gender and race of anyone shot, injured, or killed by police.

The Police Reporting of Information, Data and Evidence (Pride) Act would mandate the reporting of incidents that currently fall under a voluntary federal program led by the FBI which make “justifiable homicides” optional for local police departments to report.

The Guardian compiled a database this week called The Counted, which it claims is the most detailed mapping of police killings ever assembled. The Pride Act will follow a similar model.

Sen. Booker noted in a statement that “understanding the extent of the problem you have” was a necessary first step meant “to hold people accountable, and create effective policies that change the status quo.”

The proposed legislation, prompted in part by various reports on widespread fatal use of force nationwide — grows out of an increasing outcry surrounding police killings and brutality, much of which is alleged to be racially motivated.