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US Congress · H.R. 5143 · Passed the House

District of Columbia Policing Protection Act of 2025

Introduced
Moved
Reached a final decision
Introduced 2025-09-04
Derived from the official record below.

Officially: “District of Columbia Policing Protection Act of 2025 Read the full text

Crime and Law Enforcement

What it does

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) t
Summary by the Congressional Research Service, from the official record. Plain-language version below. Not legal advice.

Read it in plain language

AI plain language2 sections
Written by AI from the complete official bill text and independently fact-checked against it. Not legal advice.
1Short title

This section would state that the Act may be cited as the "District of Columbia Policing Protection Act."

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Official text, verbatim from the record

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the District of Columbia Policing Protection Act .

2Vehicular pursuits by law enforcement officers in District of Columbia

This section would amend the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-345), which governs the District of Columbia. It would rename subtitle S of title I of that law by removing the words "Limitations on the" from its heading, so the subtitle would be called "Use of Vehicular Pursuits by Law Enforcement Officers" rather than a heading that framed it as limits on pursuits, and it would update the table of contents entry to match. In section 127(a) of that law (D.C. Official Code section 5-365.01(a)), it would remove what are currently paragraphs (1) through (5) and paragraphs (8) through (11), and would keep what are currently paragraphs (6), (7), and (12), renumbering them as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3). This bill does not include the text of those paragraphs, so this rendering can state only which ones are removed and which are kept and renumbered, not what they required. In section 128 of that law (D.C. Official Code section 5-365.02), it would replace subsections (a), (b), and (c) with a single new rule: if a District of Columbia law enforcement officer encounters a suspect fleeing in a motor vehicle, the officer would have to pursue the suspect by vehicle unless the officer, or a higher-ranking official who supervises the officer, reasonably believes that the pursuit would create an unacceptable risk of harm to someone other than the suspect, that the pursuit would not succeed, or that the suspect could be caught more effectively or more quickly by some other means. Separately, within 3 years after this Act becomes law, the section would require the Attorney General to evaluate the costs and benefits of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia adopting PursuitAlert or another similar technology that alerts nearby members of the public to a police pursuit, and to publish a report on that evaluation and send it to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the House Committee on Oversight, and the House Committee on the Judiciary.

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Official text, verbatim from the record

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) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively; (iii) by striking paragraphs (8) through (11); and (iv) 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: If a law enforcement officer encounters a suspect fleeing in a motor vehicle, the officer shall 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— (1) 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. ; and (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 OFFICERS 33 . (b) Department of Justice report on PursuitAlert 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 of the House of Representatives; and (D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.

AI plain languageRead the whole bill in plain language, 2 sections

Where it is

Introduced · 2025-09-04

In the House.

Passed the House · 2025-09-17
Senate floor vote · next · the next step

Official documents

The on-site text is shown verbatim from the GovInfo publication, captured 2026-07-23. The same version at GovInfo.

The numbers

29%
of bills that passed one chamber became law in the 118th Congress, 2023 to 2024 (n=939)
3
sponsors, out of 218 needed to pass

Who is lobbying on this

BRADY CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCEvia BRADY CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE
5 filings
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNIONvia AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
2 filings
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF THE U.S.via LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF THE U.S.
1 filing
From 8 filings in federal lobbying disclosures (LDA), via lda.gov, naming this bill (2025 to 2026). Filings are self-reported by lobbying firms and show who is paid to influence this bill. They do not say which side, or whether it worked.
Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record. Last action: Received in the Senate. (2025-09-18).