1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress LegalLegal SidebarSidebar Reforming Patterns of Unconstitutional Policing: Enforcement of 34 U.S.C. 12601 June 15, 2020 In the early 1990s, bystander video footage of Los Angeles police beating, clubbing, and stomping on black motoris
2、t Rodney King sparked national outrage, protests, and rioting. In response, Congress passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which contained a notable provision originally codified as 42 U.S.C. 14141 and now found at 34 U.S.C. 12601 (Section 12601). Specifically, Section 12
3、601 serves as the primary federal law aiming to ensure that law enforcement agencies comply with the Constitution. More recently, bystander footage of Minneapolis police pinning George Floyd in a neckhold ignited protests, anger, and violence throughout the nation, prompting renewed interest among l
4、awmakers in the role of the federal government in ensuring constitutional policing. Indeed, Floyds death is only one in a series of similar incidents arousing public concern and protest. Some of these events, including the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore police custody and the fatal shooting of M