Amendment ID: S2800-138

Amendment 138

K9 Building Searches

Messrs. Moore, Tarr and O'Connor move to amend the bill in section 55, by striking subsection (f) of section 2 of new chapter 147A, and inserting in place thereof, the following two subsections:-

"(f) A law enforcement officer shall not discharge tear gas or any other chemical weapon, or discharge rubber pellets from a propulsion device to control or influence a person’s behavior unless: (i) de-escalation tactics have been attempted and failed or are not feasible based on the totality of the circumstances; and (ii) the measures used are necessary to prevent imminent harm and the foreseeable harm inflicted by the tear gas or other chemical weapon, or rubber pellets is proportionate to the threat of imminent harm. If a law enforcement officer utilizes tear gas or any other chemical weapon, or rubber pellets against a crowd, the law enforcement officer’s appointing agency shall file a report with the police office standards and accreditation committee detailing all measures that were taken in advance of the event to reduce the probability of disorder and all measures that were taken at the time of the event to de-escalate tensions and avoid the necessity of using the tear gas or other chemical weapon, or rubber pellets. The police officer standards and accreditation committee shall review the report and may make any additional investigation. After such review and investigation, the police officer standards and accreditation committee shall, if applicable, make a finding as to whether the pre-event and contemporaneous de-escalation efforts were adequate and whether the use of such tear gas or other chemical weapon, or rubber pellets was justified.

(g) A law enforcement officer shall not release a dog to control or influence a person’s behavior unless (i) de-escalation tactics have been attempted and failed or are not feasible based on the totality of the circumstances; (ii) the officer has immediately established a perimeter and exhausted all efforts to determine if innocent persons, including police personnel, are within the building; and (iii) such force is necessary to effect the lawful arrest of a person given an order to stop who is believed to have gained unauthorized entry into a building or has fled into a building to hide, and probable cause exists to believe that the person hiding has committed a crime in which potential violent behavior was used or threatened to be used.  In determining the necessity for force and the appropriate level of force, an officer shall evaluate each situation in light of the known circumstances including, but not limited to: the seriousness of the crime; the level of threat or resistance presented by the subject and the danger to the community; and knowledge of the subject’s prior criminal background. If a law enforcement officer utilizes a dog against a crowd, the law enforcement officer’s appointing agency shall file a report with the police office standards and accreditation committee detailing all measures that were taken in advance of the event to reduce the probability of disorder and all measures that were taken at the time of the event to de-escalate tensions and avoid the necessity of using a dog. The police officer standards and accreditation committee shall review the report and may make any additional investigation. After such review and investigation, the police officer standards and accreditation committee shall, if applicable, make a finding as to whether the pre-event and contemporaneous de-escalation efforts were adequate and whether the use of such dog was justified."