District of Columbia Policing Protection Act of 2025
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Would repeal the District of Columbia's 2022 restrictions on police vehicular pursuits and replace them with a more permissive standard, allowing officers to chase fleeing suspects in motor vehicles unless the pursuit would be futile, would pose unacceptable risk to bystanders, or a better apprehension method is available.
Because Congress holds oversight authority over DC law, the bill would effectively override a core piece of DC's Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 — shifting the default from 'pursuit prohibited except in violent-crime situations' to 'pursuit permitted unless a specific safety concern applies.'
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend DC's Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 to repeal the current restrictive framework governing when DC law enforcement officers may engage in vehicular pursuits. Under the current law, officers generally may not chase a fleeing vehicle unless the suspect is reasonably believed to be involved in a violent crime or to pose an immediate serious threat, the pursuit is necessary and unlikely to cause death or serious injury, and all other options are exhausted. The bill would strike those requirements and instead allow officers to pursue a fleeing vehicle unless the officer or a higher-ranking supervisor reasonably believes the chase would be futile, would pose an unacceptable risk of harm to someone other than the suspect, or that the suspect could be apprehended more effectively by other means.
The bill would also require the Attorney General to evaluate and publicly report — within three years of enactment — the costs and benefits of the Metropolitan Police Department adopting PursuitAlert or similar technology that warns nearby members of the public of an active police chase. The bill does not apply the new pursuit standard to sworn federal law enforcement officers of certain covered federal agencies operating in DC.
Key provisions
- 1Would repeal the current restrictive vehicular pursuit standard — which limits chases to violent-crime situations — from DC's 2022 policing reform law.
- 2Would allow DC law enforcement officers to engage in vehicular pursuits of fleeing suspects unless the chase would be futile, pose unacceptable risk to bystanders, or a better apprehension method exists.
- 3Would exclude sworn federal law enforcement officers of covered federal agencies from the definition of 'law enforcement officer' subject to this subtitle.
- 4Would require the Attorney General to evaluate costs and benefits of the Metropolitan Police Department adopting PursuitAlert or similar public-alert technology and report to Congress within three years.
Who would be affected
DC Metropolitan Police Department officers and their supervisors, who would face new decision-making standards when encountering a fleeing vehicle. DC residents and motorists could be in the vicinity of more frequent police chases. Suspects fleeing in motor vehicles in DC would be subject to pursuit under broader circumstances. The Department of Justice would be directed to study and report on public-alert technology.
Why it matters
Officers who previously could only lawfully pursue in narrow violent-crime situations would gain broader discretion to chase fleeing vehicles under a less restrictive standard. For DC communities, the change could mean more active police pursuits on city streets. The federal override also resets the balance between congressional control over DC governance and the district's own policing policy choices made in 2022.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-345) (Sec. 2(a))
Strikes the restrictive vehicular pursuit limitations — including the violent-crime and exhaustion-of-alternatives requirements — and replaces them with a permissive standard allowing pursuit absent futility, unacceptable bystander risk, or better alternatives.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Attorney General must complete and submit the PursuitAlert evaluation report to Congress
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 5143 would increase federal costs by less than $500,000 over the 2025–2030 period.
H.R. 5143 would amend a D.C. law to allow police to pursue criminal suspects fleeing in motor vehicles, and would require the Department of Justice to report to Congress within three years on police vehicular pursuits in the District. CBO estimates the federal government's cost of complying with the bill's reporting requirement would be less than $500,000 over the 2025–2030 period, based on the cost of similar reporting requirements. The estimate reflects only discretionary spending (funds subject to annual appropriations); CBO identified no significant effects on mandatory spending or revenues, and no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates were noted.
How implementation would work
The change to the vehicular pursuit standard is self-executing as written: it amends DC statutory language directly, taking effect upon enactment without a rulemaking step. Supervisors would apply the new three-part exception standard in real time. Separately, the Attorney General must conduct a formal evaluation of PursuitAlert technology within three years of enactment and submit the resulting report to four congressional committees — the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the House Judiciary Committee.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
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.
Legislative subjects
Computers and information technology; Congressional oversight; Crime and Law Enforcement; District of Columbia; Law enforcement administration and funding; Law enforcement officers; Motor vehicles