Republicans raise questions about police accountability bill
Activists, Lamont still reviewing 65-page draft
HARTFORD — A bipartisan group of lawmakers met on the Capitol steps Friday to discuss details of a police accountability bill drafted in the wake of George Floyd’s death and nationwide protests, but Republicans in attendance said they didn’t endorse the bill as it is currently written.
Among other provisions, the bill would subject all police officers in the state to periodic mental health screenings, make disciplinary records subject to the Freedom of Information Act, mandate body and dashboard cameras for officers who are engaging with the public, ban consent searches of automobiles and restrict the flow of military grade equipment from the federal government to local municipalities.
The bill would also expand the ability of the Police Officer Standards and Training Council to decer
tify or a remove police officers who engage in instances of excessive use of force and would install an inspector general to investigate and prosecute use of force cases.
“I’m just generally concerned about removing some of the protections on law enforcement personnel,” said Sen. John Kissel of Enfield, the ranking Republican senator on the judiciary committee. “But there is a concern that’s been expressed to me that if you take away some protections against what essentially are frivolous or unfounded accusations, the ultimate burden will then fall on municipalities. So there’s a whole fiscal impact that this bill is going to have.”
Activists and rank-andfile lawmakers Friday were just beginning to dissect the 65-page draft bill that was released Thursday evening. Its expected to be voted on in a special legislative session the week of July 20.
“The bill is a robust one,” said Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport and co-chair of the judiciary committee. “It spans over 60 pages and covers over 40 sections all related to police accountability and transparency as we respond to this moment. We build upon some of the work that was done in 2015, in 2017 and again last year to keep Connecticut at the forefront of reform and look forward to the next steps of the legislative process.”
Democrats control both chambers of the General Assembly, so Republican support is not required to secure passage.
“This effort that brings us the bill today was the bipartisan attempt to come to some agreement and do a significant and strong bill,” said Sen. Gary Winfield, a New Haven Democrat and co-chair of the legislature’s judiciary committee. “And I think that’s what you see before you when you look at the draft that was released last night.”
Gov. Ned Lamont has said he wants bipartisan support for whatever bill is raised in a special session. He asked all four caucus leaders in early June to address the issue of police accountability.
“I am pleased to see they are taking that charge seriously,” Lamont said in a written statement Friday. “The time is now for meaningful police accountability reforms.”
Rep. Rosa Rebimbas, a Naugatuck Republican and ranking member of the judiciary committee, said she supports letting the draft be presented for a public hearing but there were sections she and her GOP colleagues were uncomfortable with.
“There are sections in this document that some of us like,” she said. “There are sections in this document that some of us do not like, and there are sections that we would like to see some statements made. … We always need to make sure that what we do does not have an unintended consequence.”
“I’m just generally concerned about removing some of the protections on law enforcement personnel,” Kissel said. “But there is a concern that’s been expressed to me that if you take away some protections against what essentially are frivolous or unfounded accusations, the ultimate burden will then fall on municipalities. So there’s a whole fiscal impact that this bill is going to have.”
David McGuire, executive director of the ACLU in Connecticut, said on Friday that he had not yet fully reviewed the draft of the bill.
“It is promising that leadership from all four caucuses recognize that police violence is a big issue here in Connecticut and it has to be dealt with,” McGuire said.
McGuire said the ACLU has worked on transforming policing in Connecticut for some time, and would be making recommendations to the legislature in the near future.
One potential source of friction, McGuire said, is the chief state’s attorney’s role in nominating the inspector general, who would then be charged with prosecuting policing officers who are charged with excessive use of force or other types of misconduct.
“In order for an independent prosecutor whose charge it is to investigate and prosecute police that violate the public’s trust or hurt people, there must be meaningful independence and autonomy,” McGuire said. “If that office is not set up correctly, it is destined to fail.”
In the aftermath of the Ferguson protests, the legislature passed House Bill No. 7103, an Act Concerning the Excessive Use of Force, in a June 2015 special session, which required farming out cases of police misconduct to an out-of-jurisdiction prosecutor to create some distance.
“We now know five years later that didn’t work at all,” McGuire said. “We have the same results in terms of officers routinely being cleared. What we know is that folks on the ground don’t believe that the system works, that this is a biased system. In order to overcome that, you need to create a system where there is true independence and autonomy.”
Around the state, community leaders are already working with local police departments to change the culture of policing.
On Friday afternoon, the Hamden Police Department announced it would adopt a community oriented policing model based on a system used in Camden, New Jersey.
“A main emphasis of this model is placed on reform and changes in the department’s culture and practices,” Hamden Chief of Police John Cappiello said in a press release. “The model emphasizes community partnerships and organizational transformation that fits the needs of the community.”