May 22, 2025

Ahead of Anniversary of George Floyd’s Death, Warren and Pressley Introduces Suite of Bills to Transform Criminal Legal System, Improve Police Accountability

Text of the Andrew Kearse Act (PDF) | Bill One-Pager (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the five-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) reintroduced the Andrew Kearse Accountability for Denial of Medical Care Act, a bill to hold federal law enforcement officers criminally liable for failing to provide medical assistance to people in custody experiencing medical distress.

The bill is named after Andrew Kearse, a 36-year-old Black man who on May 11, 2017 died of a heart attack in the back of a police cruiser after begging a police officer for help. Instead of providing Mr. Kearse with medical assistance, the officer dismissed his pleas and waited precious minutes until after Mr. Kearse became nonresponsive to call for medical assistance. Despite failing to seek potentially life-saving care for Mr. Kearse, the officer involved, was not charged with a crime.

"If an officer denies life-saving medical care for people in their custody, they should be held accountable,” said Senator Warren. “This bill is a step towards justice for Andrew Kearse and all who died a preventable death while in custody.”

“It’s been nearly five years since George Floyd was murdered, and our families and communities continue to be plagued and destabilized by the overlapping crises of mass incarceration, police brutality, and overcriminalization,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “As we approach this somber anniversary and weather an unprecedented assault on Black and brown communities from the Trump Administration, I’m proud to introduce bold legislation and continue our push toward accountability, healing, and our collective liberation.”

“I want to thank all of you who have shown continued support not only for me and my husband but for everyone who has fought the good fight. I want the names of Andrew Kearse, Eric Garner, Mike Brown and George Floyd to not be a passing memory but something that sticks with us through the toughest of times so that we can remember the trials and tribulations those before us have suffered. I also want to thank Senator Warren and Ayanna Pressley for helping with the passing of the Andrew Kearse law. I want to strive for a future where the words I can't breathe come from a place of laughter not from a place of fear. A future where our youth doesn't have to worry if it's their last day on earth. A future where everyone can breathe,” said Angelique Negroni-Kearse, widow of Andrew Kearse.

The Andrew Kearse Accountability for Denial of Medical Care Act would:

  • Hold federal law enforcement officials criminally liable when they negligently fail to obtain or provide medical care to individuals in their custody who are experiencing medical distress, if the individual suffers unnecessary pain, injury, or death as a result. 

  • Require training for federal law enforcement officials on assisting individuals in medical distress. 

  • Direct the Inspectors General of the agencies that employ federal law enforcement officers to investigate potential violations and refer them to the Department of Justice for prosecution.

The Andrew Kearse Act was first introduced in 2020, during the 116th Congress, after the lawmakers committed to introducing the legislation during a conversation with Andrew's widow, Angelique Negroni-Kearse. The bill was reintroduced in the 117th Congress and again in the 118th Congress. 

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