PRESS RELEASE: Councilmember Pinto Introduces Bill to Enhance Transparency with Federal Agency Use of Force Incidents

Posted by

S. Graubard

February 24, 2026

For Immediate Release

Contact: Samantha Graubard

PRESS RELEASE: Councilmember Pinto Introduces Bill to Enhance Transparency with Federal Agency Use of Force Incidents

Washington DC — Today, Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety Chairwoman Brooke Pinto introduced a bill to enhance transparency with use of force incidents involving federal agencies by requiring the release of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) body-worn camera recordings and incident details of federal agencies using force that occur while MPD is present. Chairman Phil Mendelson co-introduced the measure.

The “Body-Worn Camera Transparency for Use of Force Amendment Act of 2026” would:

Require the public release of MPD body-worn camera recordings of all officer-involved deaths or serious use of force incidents as well as the names of all officers involved when available and a description of the incident. For body-worn camera recordings involving an officer-involved death, the decedent’s next of kin must provide consent for the footage to be released. For recordings of a serious use of force incident, the alleged victim or guardian if the victim is a minor must consent to its release.
Require that MPD’s public database of MPD body-worn camera recordings and names of all officers directly involved with an officer-involved death since January 1, 2026, include names of directly involved federal law enforcement officers, as available.
Require a roll call record of all federal agents in attendance at daily MPD roll call to provide transparency with MPD joint patrols with federal agencies.

“Our local Metropolitan Police Department works hard every day to protect the public and maintain community trust; we must ensure that the public has access to information and transparency when federal agents use force in our city,” said Chairwoman Pinto. “As the federal interference in the District continues to undermine public confidence, my bill fosters accountability and builds safer, more collaborative communities.”

A version of this bill is also being introduced as emergency legislation for the March 3 DC Council legislative meeting.

This comes as tomorrow, on Wednesday, February 25th, the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety will hold a performance oversight hearing for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), and the Office of Police Complaints (OPC).

Chairwoman Pinto will question Interim MPD Chief Jeffery Carroll about MPD’s coordination with federal law enforcement, ongoing staffing concerns, and the department’s major progress on crime reduction over the last year and efforts to continue to bring down crime. In December, Chairwoman Pinto sent a letter to MPD that was signed by every member of the DC Council seeking clarity on MPD’s cooperation with ICE and on its crime data collection process. Unfortunately, MPD’s response to our letter only provided a general state of affairs, and Chairwoman Pinto will follow up with these critically important questions during tomorrow’s hearing.

Who: Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety

What: Performance Oversight Hearing

When: 9:30am on Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Where: Room 123 at the John A. Wilson Building

The order of Wednesday’s agency testimony will include CJCC first, OPC second, and MPD third. More than 100 public witnesses have signed up to testify.

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