| 1 | 1 | | 87R6323 TSS-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Crockett H.B. No. 1943 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to requiring law enforcement agencies to adopt policies |
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| 8 | 8 | | prohibiting a peace officer from discharging a firearm at or in the |
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| 9 | 9 | | direction of a moving vehicle; creating a criminal offense. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Jordan Edwards Act. |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 2. Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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| 13 | 13 | | amended by adding Article 2.1397 to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | Art. 2.1397. LIMITATIONS ON DISCHARGE OF FIREARM AT MOVING |
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| 15 | 15 | | VEHICLE; OFFENSE. (a) In this article, "law enforcement agency" |
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| 16 | 16 | | means an agency of the state or an agency of a political subdivision |
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| 17 | 17 | | of the state authorized by law to employ peace officers. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (b) A peace officer may not, while performing an official |
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| 19 | 19 | | duty, discharge a firearm at or in the direction of a moving vehicle |
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| 20 | 20 | | unless: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (1) if the vehicle is occupied solely by the driver: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (A) the peace officer discharges the firearm only |
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| 23 | 23 | | when and to the degree the officer reasonably believes is |
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| 24 | 24 | | immediately necessary to protect the officer or another person from |
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| 25 | 25 | | the use of unlawful deadly force by the driver of the vehicle; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | (B) before discharging the firearm, the officer |
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| 27 | 27 | | has exhausted all other reasonable means of mitigating or |
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| 28 | 28 | | preventing the deadly force by the driver or has determined that |
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| 29 | 29 | | other means of mitigating or preventing the deadly force would be |
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| 30 | 30 | | inappropriate under the circumstances; or |
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| 31 | 31 | | (2) if the vehicle has one or more passengers: |
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| 32 | 32 | | (A) the peace officer discharges the firearm only |
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| 33 | 33 | | when and to the degree the officer reasonably believes is |
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| 34 | 34 | | immediately necessary to protect the officer from unlawful deadly |
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| 35 | 35 | | force by the driver of the vehicle by means of the vehicle; and |
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| 36 | 36 | | (B) the officer reasonably believes that the |
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| 37 | 37 | | officer is unable to mitigate or prevent the deadly force by the |
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| 38 | 38 | | officer moving out of the path of the vehicle. |
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| 39 | 39 | | (c) A law enforcement agency shall adopt a policy regarding |
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| 40 | 40 | | a peace officer's use of force with respect to a moving vehicle that |
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| 41 | 41 | | is consistent with this article. |
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| 42 | 42 | | (d) A peace officer commits an offense if the officer |
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| 43 | 43 | | engages in conduct prohibited by Subsection (a) in violation of a |
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| 44 | 44 | | policy adopted under Subsection (c). |
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| 45 | 45 | | (e) An offense under this article is a felony of the third |
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| 46 | 46 | | degree. |
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| 47 | 47 | | (f) Notwithstanding any other law, conduct prohibited under |
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| 48 | 48 | | Subsection (a) is not justified under Section 9.21, 9.51, or 9.52, |
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| 49 | 49 | | Penal Code. |
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| 50 | 50 | | (g) If conduct constituting an offense under Subsection (d) |
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| 51 | 51 | | also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be |
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| 52 | 52 | | prosecuted under that subsection, the other law, or both. |
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| 53 | 53 | | SECTION 3. Each law enforcement agency in this state shall |
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| 54 | 54 | | adopt the policy required by Article 2.1397, Code of Criminal |
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| 55 | 55 | | Procedure, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after the |
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| 56 | 56 | | effective date of this Act. |
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| 57 | 57 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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