Deadly Force Independent Review Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 7310 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7310 To establish protocols for the investigation of uses of deadly force by Federal law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 2, 2026 Mr. Cohen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To establish protocols for the investigation of uses of deadly force by Federal law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Deadly Force Independent Review Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. PROTOCOL FOR INVESTIGATION OF USE OF DEADLY FORCE BY FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. Each Federal law enforcement agency shall establish a protocol for investigating any use of deadly force and shall commence such an investigation on each occasion that an officer of that agency uses deadly force. Such protocol shall include a requirement that requires that all evidence collected shall be made available to the appropriate State and local authorities. SEC. 3. ROLE OF INSPECTORS GENERAL. (a) Review of Agency Investigations.--If the investigation is not conducted by the inspector general for that agency then the inspector general shall conduct an independent review of the findings to verify that the investigation was sufficiently thorough, complied with the protocols, and that the findings were adequately supported by the evidence. If the investigation uncovers any wrongdoing, the findings will be reported to proper authorities for appropriate disciplinary action, including prosecution in the case of any criminal activity. (b) Council To Establish U