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Summary Provided by Congressional Research Service
District of Columbia Policing Protection Act
This bill repeals restrictions on the circumstances under which law enforcement officers in the District of Columbia (DC) may engage in vehicular pursuits (i.e., police chases) of suspects fleeing in motor vehicles, and instead generally requires such pursuits in the absence of other means of apprehension.
Currently, pursuant to DC's Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, law enforcement officers generally may not engage in vehicular pursuits of suspects fleeing in motor vehicles unless the officer reasonably believes (1) the suspect was involved in a crime of violence or poses an immediate and serious threat to another person, (2) the pursuit is necessary to prevent that threat and is not likely to result in death or serious injury to any person, and (3) all other options have been exhausted or are unreasonable given the circumstances.
The bill repeals these restrictions and instead requires law enforcement officers to engage in vehicular pursuits of suspects fleeing in motor vehicles unless the officer or a higher-ranking officer reasonably believes that (1) such pursuit would be futile, (2) the pursuit would entail an unacceptable risk of harm to a person other than the suspect, or (3) the suspect can be apprehended more effectively or expeditiously by other means.
The bill also requires the Department of Justice to report to Congress on the costs and benefits of DC’s Metropolitan Police Department adopting technology that alerts the public of an active police pursuit in their immediate vicinity.
Latest available text
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the "District of Columbia Policing Protection Act of 2025".
2. Vehicular pursuits by law enforcement officers in District of Columbia
(a) Amendment - The Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24–345) is amended—
(1) in subtitle S of title I—
(A) in the heading, by striking LIMITATIONS ON THE;
(B) in section 127(a) (sec. 5–365.01(a), D.C. Official Code)—
(i) by striking paragraphs (1) through (5);
(ii) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and inserting the following: ", except that such term does not include a sworn federal law enforcement officer of a covered federal law enforcement agency as defined in section 11712(d) of the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 (sec. 5–133.17(d), D.C. Official Code).";
(iii) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively;
(iv) by striking paragraphs (8) through (11); and
(v) by redesignating paragraph (12) as paragraph (3); and
(C) in section 128 (sec. 5–365.02, D.C. Official Code), by striking subsections (a), (b), and (c) and inserting the following:
(1) Department of Justice report on PursuitAlert
If a law enforcement officer encounters a suspect fleeing in a motor vehicle, the officer may engage in a vehicular pursuit of the suspect unless the officer, or a higher-ranking official with supervisory authority over the officer, reasonably believes that—
vehicular pursuit would—
(A) entail an unacceptable risk of harm to a person other than the suspect; or
(B) be futile; or
(2) the suspect can be apprehended more effectively or expeditiously by a means other than vehicular pursuit.
(2) in the table of contents, by striking the item relating to subtitle S of title I and inserting the following:
SUBTITLE S.USE OF VEHICULAR PURSUITS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS33
(b) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall—
(1) evaluate the costs and benefits of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia adopting PursuitAlert or another similar technology capable of alerting members of the public to the presence of a police pursuit in their immediate vicinity; and
(2) publish a report on the evaluation conducted under paragraph (1) and submit the report to—
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
Passed the House of Representatives September 17, 2025.Kevin F. McCumber,Clerk.