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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to requiring law enforcement agencies to adopt policies |
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prohibiting a peace officer from discharging a firearm at or in the |
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direction of a moving vehicle; creating a criminal offense. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Jordan Edwards Act. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended by adding Article 2.1397 to read as follows: |
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Art. 2.1397. LIMITATIONS ON DISCHARGE OF FIREARM AT MOVING |
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VEHICLE; OFFENSE. (a) In this article, "law enforcement agency" |
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means an agency of the state or an agency of a political subdivision |
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of the state authorized by law to employ peace officers. |
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(b) A peace officer may not, while performing an official |
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duty, discharge a firearm at or in the direction of a moving vehicle |
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unless: |
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(1) if the vehicle is occupied solely by the driver: |
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(A) the peace officer discharges the firearm only |
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when and to the degree the officer reasonably believes is |
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immediately necessary to protect the officer or another person from |
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the use of unlawful deadly force by the driver of the vehicle; and |
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(B) before discharging the firearm, the officer |
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has exhausted all other reasonable means of mitigating or |
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preventing the deadly force by the driver or has determined that |
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other means of mitigating or preventing the deadly force would be |
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inappropriate under the circumstances; or |
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(2) if the vehicle has one or more passengers: |
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(A) the peace officer discharges the firearm only |
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when and to the degree the officer reasonably believes is |
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immediately necessary to protect the officer from unlawful deadly |
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force by the driver of the vehicle by means of the vehicle; and |
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(B) the officer reasonably believes that the |
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officer is unable to mitigate or prevent the deadly force by the |
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officer moving out of the path of the vehicle. |
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(c) A law enforcement agency shall adopt a policy regarding |
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a peace officer's use of force with respect to a moving vehicle that |
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is consistent with this article. |
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(d) A peace officer commits an offense if the officer |
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engages in conduct prohibited by Subsection (a) in violation of a |
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policy adopted under Subsection (c). |
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(e) An offense under this article is a felony of the third |
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degree. |
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(f) Notwithstanding any other law, conduct prohibited under |
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Subsection (a) is not justified under Section 9.21, 9.51, or 9.52, |
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Penal Code. |
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(g) If conduct constituting an offense under Subsection (d) |
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also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be |
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prosecuted under that subsection, the other law, or both. |
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SECTION 3. Each law enforcement agency in this state shall |
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adopt the policy required by Article 2.1397, Code of Criminal |
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Procedure, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after the |
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effective date of this Act. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |