Sponsors (3)
The bill aims to reduce the dangers of high-speed police pursuits and improve public alerts, but it leaves significant officer discretion, potential federal enforcement gaps, and modest implementation costs that could limit those safety gains.
Urban residents and bystanders will likely face fewer dangerous high-speed police pursuits and related crashes because officers are required to refrain from pursuits that pose unacceptable risks and may choose safer alternative tactics.
The Attorney General study could produce a PursuitAlert public-warning system or similar notices that inform nearby drivers about active pursuits, improving public awareness and potentially reducing incidental harm.
Because the bill gives officers broad discretion to continue pursuits unless they reasonably believe they should stop, it could permit more pursuits than a stricter limit would, increasing crash and injury risk for the public and taxpayers.
Excluding certain federal officers from the rule narrows coverage and may create accountability gaps or enforcement inconsistencies during joint operations, potentially reducing protections for the same communities in multiagency incidents.
Developing and implementing a PursuitAlert or similar systems could impose additional costs on the Metropolitan Police Department and Department of Justice, which may be borne by taxpayers or local governments if adopted.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Modifies D.C. law to generally permit vehicle pursuits unless they pose unacceptable risk or are futile, excludes certain federal officers, and mandates an AG evaluation/report on pursuit-detection tech.
Revises District of Columbia law on police vehicular pursuits to generally allow pursuits unless an officer or supervisor reasonably believes the pursuit would pose an unacceptable risk to people (other than the suspect) or would be futile, or the suspect can be caught more safely or quickly by another method. It narrows the set of officers covered by the rule to exclude sworn federal law enforcement officers of agencies defined under 18 U.S.C. note sec. 11712(d). Also directs the Attorney General to evaluate PursuitAlert (or similar) technology for the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and to report findings to four specified congressional committees within three years. The Act includes a short-title provision but does not itself create new funding or broad new programs.
Introduced September 4, 2025 by Clay Higgins · Last progress September 18, 2025