South Carolina S 142: Trafficking in persons, luring a child

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 142 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 11, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 142

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 
23-23-170 SO AS TO REQUIRE THAT THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING 
COUNCIL DEVELOP A MODEL USE OF FORCE POLICY THAT MAY BE ADOPTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT 
AGENCIES, TO MANDATE USE OF FORCE TRAINING AT THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACADEMY, TO 
PROVIDE THAT A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY THAT DOES NOT IMPLEMENT A USE OF FORCE 
POLICY LOSES QUALIFIED IMMUNITY FOR ITS OFFICERS, AND TO PROVIDE THAT LAW 
ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN A DEPARTMENT THAT DOES NOT ADOPT AN APPROVED USE OF 
FORCE POLICY ARE NOT SUBJECT TO QUALIFIED IMMUNITY FOR ANY INCIDENT THAT OCCURS 
WHICH WOULD BE ADDRESSED BY THE MODEL USE OF FORCE POLICY.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Chapter 23, Title 23 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
23-23-170. (A) All law enforcement 
agencies in the State must adopt a use of force policy.

 (B) 
The Law Enforcement Training Council shall develop a model use of force policy 
that includes, but is not limited to:

 (1) 
minimal reliance on physical force, such that law enforcement officers may use 
physical force only when no other viable options are available and when all 
non-physical options are exhausted;

 (2) 
alternatives to use of physical force, including, but not limited to:

 (a) 
employing de-escalation techniques designed to reduce potential conflict;

 (b) 
placing barriers between an uncooperative individual and a law enforcement 
officer;

 (c) 
moving from a position that exposes law enforcement officers to potential 
threats to a safer position, creating distance between the officer and the 
individual;

 (d) 
communicating from a safe position with the intention to gain the individual's 
compliance using advisements and warnings;

 (e) 
slowing down the pace of an incident;

 (f) 
waiting out the individual;

 (g) 
allowing the individual to move if it is safe to do so;

 (h) 
allowing the individual to make statements or ask questions; and

 (3) 
verbal techniques designed to calm an agitated individual and promote rational 
decision-making;

 (4) 
avoidance of physical confrontation unless immediately necessary to protect the 
safety of the officer or bystanders, as well as determination of the level of 
threat or resistance that the individual poses to the officer or bystanders;

 (5) 
methods for understanding when an individual is experiencing a mental health 
crisis, a medical emergency, a drug interaction, or a language barrier and how 
to respond to each situation appropriately;

 (6) 
means of determining when it is appropriate to call for extra assistance from 
other officers or health care professionals; and

 (7) 
other tactics that the department deems appropriate and necessary to gain 
compliance of an individual through non-lethal means.

 (C) 
The Criminal Justice Academy shall include training based on the model policy 
for all recruits undergoing training. The academy must also offer training for 
departments adopting a use of force policy.

 (D) A 
department may adopt a use of force policy other than the model policy. If a 
department chooses to adopt its own policy, then the Law Enforcement Training 
Council must first approve the alternate policy. As part of the approval 
process, the department seeking its own policy must explain why it requires a 
policy that differs from the model policy.

 (E) 
Law enforcement officers in a department that does not adopt a use of force 
policy as required in this Section shall not be entitled to qualified immunity 
for any incident that occurs which would be addressed by the model use of force 
policy adopted by the Law Enforcement Training Council.

SECTION 2. The 
Law Enforcement Training Council shall adopt the model use of force policy no 
later than ninety days after the effective date of this act. Individual law 
enforcement agencies must adopt a use of force policy no later than one hundred 
twenty days after the effective date of this act.

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on December 11, 2024 at 04:38 PM