District of Columbia Policing Protection Act of 2025
District of Columbia Policing Protection Act of 2025 sets a risk-based standard for vehicular pursuits by law enforcement in the District of Columbia. It amends the DC law that governs pursuits to allow officers to engage in a vehicle chase only if the pursuit would not pose an unacceptable risk to bystanders and is not futile, or if the suspect cannot be apprehended more effectively by other means. The bill also clarifies that certain sworn federal law enforcement officers are not subject to these DC restrictions. In addition, it requires the Department of Justice to evaluate the potential adoption of PursuitAlert (a public-alerting technology for ongoing pursuits) and to report its costs, benefits, and findings to Congress within three years.
Key Points
- 1Establishes a single, risk-based standard for vehicular pursuits: pursuits are allowed unless they create unacceptable risk to others, are futile, or a safer or more effective method exists.
- 2Replaces the previous, more restrictive provisions with a clear decision framework that involves supervisory oversight in determining whether to continue or abort a pursuit.
- 3Exempts sworn federal law enforcement officers of certain covered federal agencies from the DC-specific pursuit limitations.
- 4Requires the Department of Justice to evaluate PursuitAlert or similar technology and prepare a report on costs, benefits, and findings, due to specified congressional committees within three years.
- 5Links the Act to amendments of the District of Columbia’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act of 2022, updating how vehicular pursuits are governed in DC.