The bill prohibits peace officers from using prone restraint to
subdue a subject, except in cases in which the use of deadly physical force is justified. The bill requires officers who use prone restraint to immediately reposition a person to facilitate breathing once the person is in handcuffs or the person's hands are tied. The bill applies a similar prone restraint prohibition and recovery position requirement to guards and peace officers employed in detention facilities.
The bill requires the development of a model state policy on the
risk of positional asphyxia and law enforcement use of prone restraint when making arrests or preventing escapes. The bill lists elements of the model policy and directs state and local law enforcement agencies, including those that supervise detention facilities, to adopt their own written policies and training requirements based on those elements. Law enforcement agencies that have not adopted their own policies on or before July 1, 2026, must comply with the state's model policy. The bill requires reporting of policy violations.
The bill creates a private right of action against a law enforcement
agency that fails to adopt prone restraint policies, train officers to adhere to those policies, or report policy violations. The bill also creates a private right of action against individual peace officers and guards employed in detention facilities who violate policies on which they've been trained, and authorizes the peace officers standards and training board to impose related disciplinary measures on peace officers.
