| 12 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 13 | 14 | | AN ACT PROTECTING FROM RETALIATION LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS THAT 2 |
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| 14 | 15 | | REPORT THE USE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE OR OTHER IMPROPER OR UNLAWFUL 3 |
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| 15 | 16 | | ACTIVITY. 4 |
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| 16 | 17 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5 |
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| 17 | 18 | | SECTION 1. G.S. 15A-401 reads as rewritten: 6 |
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| 18 | 19 | | "§ 15A-401. Arrest by law-enforcement officer. 7 |
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| 19 | 20 | | … 8 |
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| 20 | 21 | | (d1) Duty to Intervene and Report Excessive Use of Force. – A law enforcement officer, 9 |
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| 21 | 22 | | while in the line of duty, who observes another law enforcement officer use force against another 10 |
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| 22 | 23 | | person that the observing officer reasonably believes exceeds the amount of force authorized by 11 |
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| 23 | 24 | | subsection (d) of this section and who possesses a reasonable opportunity to intervene, shall, if 12 |
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| 24 | 25 | | it is safe to do so, attempt to intervene to prevent the use of excessive force. Additionally, the 13 |
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| 25 | 26 | | observing officer shall, within a reasonable period of time not to exceed 72 hours thereafter, 14 |
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| 26 | 27 | | report what the officer reasonably believes to be an unauthorized use of force to a superior law 15 |
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| 27 | 28 | | enforcement officer within the agency of the observing officer, even if the observing officer did 16 |
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| 28 | 29 | | not have a reasonable opportunity to intervene. If the head of the law enforcement agency of the 17 |
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| 29 | 30 | | observing officer was involved or present during what the observing officer reasonably believes 18 |
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| 30 | 31 | | to be unauthorized use of force, the observing officer shall make the report to the highest ranking 19 |
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| 31 | 32 | | law enforcement officer of that officer's agency who was not involved in or present during the 20 |
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| 32 | 33 | | use of force. 21 |
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| 33 | 34 | | Making a knowingly false report under this subsection shall be a Class 2 misdemeanor. 22 |
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| 34 | 35 | | (d2) Protection from Retaliation. – The observing officer reporting an alleged 23 |
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| 35 | 36 | | unauthorized use of force pursuant to subsection (d1) of this section shall not be terminated, 24 |
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| 36 | 37 | | disciplined, or otherwise retaliated against for making that report, provided that nothing in this 25 |
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| 37 | 38 | | subsection shall prohibit councils, supervisors, department heads, or other appropriate authorities 26 |
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| 38 | 39 | | from taking disciplinary action against the observing officer for conduct that occurred prior to 27 |
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| 39 | 40 | | making the report. 28 |
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| 40 | 41 | | …." 29 |
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| 41 | 42 | | SECTION 2. Article 1 of Chapter 17C of the General Statutes is amended by adding 30 |
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| 42 | 43 | | a new section to read: 31 |
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| 43 | 44 | | "§ 17C-17. Duty to intervene and report certain conduct; protection from retaliation. 32 |
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| 44 | 45 | | (a) No public employer shall retaliate against a criminal justice officer for disclosing a 33 |
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| 45 | 46 | | violation of or noncompliance with a law, rule, or regulation to a supervisor or government 34 |
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| 48 | 53 | | (b) Employees' protected reporting under this section does not exempt an employee from 1 |
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| 49 | 54 | | adherence to laws, rules, or regulations. The employer retains the right to investigate and take 2 |
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| 50 | 55 | | appropriate disciplinary action, up to and concluding termination, for any policy violation, 3 |
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| 51 | 56 | | misconduct, or performance issue, regardless of whether the employee has filed a protected 4 |
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| 52 | 57 | | disclosure under this section. Any such disciplinary action shall be based on and consistent with 5 |
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| 53 | 58 | | the law and the agency's rules and regulations and shall not be influenced by the employee's 6 |
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| 54 | 59 | | protected disclosure. 7 |
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| 55 | 60 | | (c) Making a knowingly false report under this section shall be a Class 2 misdemeanor." 8 |
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| 56 | 61 | | SECTION 3. This act becomes effective December 1, 2025, and applies to offenses 9 |
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| 57 | 62 | | committed and retaliatory actions taken on or after that date. 10 |
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