Grassley Supports Bill with Iowan in Mind; Legislation Requires Reporting of Deaths in Police Custody Heads to President

Press Release

Legislation requiring law enforcement to report to the federal government any deaths of people in its custody cleared the Senate late last night and will now be sent to the President to be signed into law. The bill passed the House of Representatives on Dec. 12, 2013. Grassley is Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee which passed the bill on Nov. 20, 2014.

Grassley said that reducing deaths in custody requires knowing when and how they occur and adopting policies to reduce them.

"I've supported this bill in the past, but my support is strengthened by a tragic incident involving Iowan Brandon Ellingson, who died earlier this year in police custody in Missouri. There are allegations that his death was due to police negligence," Grassley said. "Whenever a citizen dies while in the custody of law enforcement, it deserves to be closely reviewed by the appropriate authorities. That would include the Department of Justice, if it appears that any federal laws were broken."

The Death in Custody Reporting Act requires states that receive federal Byrne-JAG funding to report to the U.S. Attorney General about the death of any person in its custody. Failure to report would result in loss of funding of such federal funding. In addition, the bill requires federal law enforcement agencies to report the death of any person detained or arrested by any federal agency of officer or if the person is en route to be incarcerated or detained.

The Attorney General is then required to study the information and report to Congress on ways in which the number of deaths in law enforcement custody can be reduced.

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