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This bill would require states receiving federal funds from specific grant programs to mandate that state law enforcement officers or cadets receive sensitivity training each fiscal year or risk losing federal assistance. States that fail to comply with these requirements could face a 20 percent reduction in the grant funding that otherwise would’ve been awarded. The sensitivity training must include instruction on ethnic and racial bias, cultural diversity, and police interaction with the disabled, mentally ill, and new immigrants.

The state must must certify to the Attorney General that these training sessions have been completed, although these requirements could be waived if compliance with this legislation would violate a state’s constitution.

The Attorney General would be also be directed to reduce federal funding by 20 percent to state or local governments that failed to enact or put into effect a requirement that an independent prosecutor be appointed under the following circumstances:

One or more of the possible defendants is a law enforcement officer;
One or more of the alleged offenses involves the law enforcement officer’s use of deadly force in the course of carrying out their duty;
The law enforcement officer’s use of deadly force resulted in death or injury.

The federal grant programs that would be affected by this legislation are the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program, the Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Program, and the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.

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Should the Feds Incentivize Sensitivity Training for State Police Departments?