| 1 | 1 | | 88R14137 JRR-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Birdwell S.B. No. 1899 |
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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 a law enforcement agency's use of deadly force by means |
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| 8 | 8 | | of a drone. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 9.54, Penal Code, is amended by amending |
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| 11 | 11 | | Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (b) Notwithstanding any other law and subject to Subsection |
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| 13 | 13 | | (c), the use of force, including deadly force, involving a drone is |
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| 14 | 14 | | justified under this subchapter only if: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) at the time the use of force occurred, the actor |
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| 16 | 16 | | was employed by a law enforcement agency; |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) the use of force: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (A) would have been justified under another |
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| 19 | 19 | | provision of this subchapter; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | (B) did not involve the use of deadly force by |
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| 21 | 21 | | means of an autonomous drone; and |
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| 22 | 22 | | (3) before the use of force occurred, the law |
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| 23 | 23 | | enforcement agency employing the actor adopted and submitted to the |
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| 24 | 24 | | Texas Commission on Law Enforcement a policy on the agency's use of |
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| 25 | 25 | | force by means of a drone, as required by Article 2.33, Code of |
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| 26 | 26 | | Criminal Procedure, and the use of force conformed to the |
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| 27 | 27 | | requirements of that policy. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (c) The use of deadly force involving a drone is justified |
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| 29 | 29 | | under Subsection (b) only if: |
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| 30 | 30 | | (1) the actor reasonably believes that the use of |
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| 31 | 31 | | deadly force by means of a drone is necessary to protect the actor |
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| 32 | 32 | | or another from an imminent threat of death or serious bodily |
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| 33 | 33 | | injury; and |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) before the actor's use of deadly force occurred, |
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| 35 | 35 | | the head of the law enforcement agency employing the actor, on a |
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| 36 | 36 | | case-by-case basis, specifically approved the actor's use of deadly |
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| 37 | 37 | | force by means of a drone. |
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| 38 | 38 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 39 | 39 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 40 | 40 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 41 | 41 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 42 | 42 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 43 | 43 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 44 | 44 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 45 | 45 | | before that date. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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