Police face new rules on searches Duty to intervene if fellow officers use excessive force

Laws now taking effect include first provisions of accountability bill

New laws taking effect in Connecticut today primarily include the first provisions of a sweeping police accountability bill that lawmakers passed over the summer amid racial justice protests that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Some of the more controversial parts of the police bill — changes to qualified immunity that protects officers from lawsuits related to their conduct and a narrowing of the circumstances under which officers can use deadly force — won’t take effect until next year.

But beginning today, police officers will face new restrictions on searches and a newly created independent office will take over responsibility of investigating deadly use of force by police.

Police searches require consent

Police in Connecticut cannot ask drivers to search their car if they’ve been stopped solely for a motor vehicle violation. They may only conduct such searches if they have probable cause or receive unsolicited consent. Drivers pulled over for motor vehicle violation also cannot be asked to produce anything other than their driver’s license, registration and insurance information.

Police in Connecticut are required to step in if they witness another officer using unreasonable, excessive or illegal force. The law also applies to correction officers in the state’s prisons. An officer who witnesses unreasonable, excessive or illegal force and does not intervene may be charged with the same crime as the officer who used the force. The law contains exceptions for undercover officers and stipulates that departments cannot retaliate against officers who intervene.