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CIVIC HERALD
HR 5143 · 119th CongressOther

District of Columbia Policing Protection Act of 2025

Official summary: District of Columbia Policing Protection Act This bill repeals restrictions on the circumstances under which law enforcement officers in the District of Columbia (DC) may engage in vehicular pursuits (i.e., police chases) of suspects fleeing in motor vehicles, and instead generally requires such pursuits in the absence of other means of apprehension. Currently, pursuant to DC's Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, law enforcement officers generally may not engage in vehicular pursuits of suspects fleeing in motor vehicles unless the officer reasonably believes (1) the suspect was involved in a crime of violence or poses an immediate and serious threat to another person, (2) the pursuit is necessary to prevent that threat and is not likely to result in death or serious injury to any person, and (3) all other options have been exhausted or are unreasonable given the circumstances. The bill repeals these restrictions and instead requires law enforcement officers to engage in vehicular pursuits of suspects fleeing in motor vehicles unless the officer or a higher-ranking officer reasonably believes that (1) such pursuit would be futile, (2) the pursuit would entail an unacceptable risk of harm to a person other than the suspect, or (3) the suspect can be apprehended more effectively or expeditiously by other means. The bill also requires the Department of Justice to report to Congress on the costs and benefits of DC’s Metropolitan Police Department adopting technology that alerts the public of an active police pursuit in their immediate vicinity.

Written by the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov.

Sponsored by

Provisionalunreviewed: provisions, stakeholders, summary
People affected—The bill applies only to the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (a geographically limited jurisdiction); total number of people directly affected by the pursuit-rule change is not determinable from the text provided.
Fiscal magnitudeest. ≤ $500.0KCBO cost estimate (H.R. 5143, House Oversight 2025-09-15, pub 61743): complying with the DOJ reporting requirement increases federal costs by less than $500,000 over 2025-2030. Stored as the 500000 ceiling, qualified upper_bound (display: est. <$500K).
Reach32rigor: cbo primary
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Issues

What this bill touches.

Policing & funding−55Federal vs. state/local+45Security vs. privacy−15

The sign shows the bill's direction on each issue (+ toward, − away); the number is its magnitude. Color never encodes good or bad, and never party.

Who it affects

Who it helps · who it burdens.

Provisional: our reading of who it affects, pending review.

Who it helps

  • D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officersOfficers regain broad authority to pursue suspects fleeing in vehicles; the prior D.C. law's specific enumerated restrictions (paragraphs 1–5 and 8–11) are removed, leaving officers with discretion to pursue unless a reasonable belief of unacceptable risk or futility exists.provisional
  • Members of the public near police pursuitsProvision 3 requires the Attorney General to evaluate and publish a report on PursuitAlert technology that would notify the public of nearby vehicle chases, potentially improving public safety awareness — though this is an evaluation requirement only, not a mandate to adopt the technology.provisional

Who it burdens

  • Suspects fleeing from D.C. police in vehiclesThe new permissive default means officers may now routinely engage in vehicular pursuit, increasing the likelihood a fleeing suspect will be chased. The prior law had enumerated conditions that more tightly constrained pursuit authorization.provisional

Who opposes it

  • Prior D.C. vehicular-pursuit restrictionsThe bill expressly strikes paragraphs (1) through (5) and (8) through (11) of D.C. Official Code sec. 5–365.01(a) and replaces subsections (a), (b), and (c) of sec. 5–365.02 — directly curtailing the scope of the 2022 D.C. policing-reform law's vehicular-pursuit limitations.provisional

Dollar-level funding (FEC sector totals) is coming in a later phase.

What it does

The provisions, in plain language.

Provisional: our reading of what the bill does, pending review.

  1. D.C. police officers are now generally allowed to chase a suspect fleeing in a vehicle. The previous law's list of specific restrictions and conditions on when a vehicular pursuit is permitted is removed and replaced with a permissive default: a pursuit may proceed unless the officer — or a supervising officer — reasonably believes the chase poses an unacceptable risk of harm to bystanders, is futile, or that the suspect can be caught more safely by another method.

    Sec. 2(a)(1)(B)(i), Sec. 2(a)(1)(B)(iv), Sec. 2(a)(1)(C)provisional

  2. Sworn federal law enforcement officers from covered federal agencies are excluded from the definition of 'law enforcement officer' in the D.C. policing-reform law's vehicular-pursuit section, meaning those federal officers are not subject to this D.C. pursuit framework.

    Sec. 2(a)(1)(B)(ii)provisional

  3. Within 3 years of enactment, the U.S. Attorney General must evaluate the costs and benefits of the Metropolitan Police Department adopting PursuitAlert or a similar technology that alerts members of the public when a police vehicle chase is occurring nearby, and must publish a report with findings submitted to four congressional committees.

    Sec. 2(b)provisional

How your members of Congress line up

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The record

How members voted on District of Columbia Policing Protection Act of 2025.

Recorded roll calls on this bill, most recent first. Open one to see each member's position.

  • House · Sep 17, 2025 · YEA-AND-NAY

    On Passage · Passed

    Source →

Timeline

How it moved.

Show all 15 actions
  1. Sep 18, 2025Received in the Senate.
  2. Sep 17, 2025Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  3. Sep 17, 2025On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 245 - 182 (Roll no. 275). (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H4379)
  4. Sep 17, 2025Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 245 - 182 (Roll no. 275). (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H4379)
  5. Sep 17, 2025Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H4395)
  6. Sep 17, 2025POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on H.R. 5143, the Chair put the question on passage of the bill, and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Garcia (CA) demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings until a time to be announced.
  7. Sep 17, 2025The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
  8. Sep 17, 2025DEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 5143.
  9. Sep 17, 2025Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. 5140, H.R. 5125, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015 and H.R. 3062. The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. 5140, H.R. 5125, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015, and H.R. 3062 under a closed rule, and provides for a motion to recommit on each measure.
  10. Sep 17, 2025Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 707. (consideration: CR H4379)
  11. Sep 15, 2025Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 707 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. 5140, H.R. 5125, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015 and H.R. 3062. The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. 5140, H.R. 5125, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015, and H.R. 3062 under a closed rule, and provides for a motion to recommit on each measure.
  12. Sep 10, 2025Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 25 - 20.
  13. Sep 10, 2025Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  14. Sep 4, 2025Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
  15. Sep 4, 2025Introduced in House
  1. Sep 18, 2025Received in the Senate.
  2. Sep 17, 2025Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  3. Sep 17, 2025On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 245 - 182 (Roll no. 275). (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H4379)
  4. Sep 17, 2025Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 245 - 182 (Roll no. 275). (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H4379)
  5. Sep 15, 2025Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 707 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. 5140, H.R. 5125, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015 and H.R. 3062. The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. 5140, H.R. 5125, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015, and H.R. 3062 under a closed rule, and provides for a motion to recommit on each measure.
  6. Sep 10, 2025Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 25 - 20.
  7. Sep 4, 2025Introduced in House

The original text

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Sources & provenance

Congress.govrefreshed 4 months ago

Cite this page

Civic Herald. “District of Columbia Policing Protection Act of 2025 (H.R. 5143, 119th Congress).” https://civicherald.app/bills/119-hr-5143. Congress.gov record as of Jul 13, 2026.

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