The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Police reform bill aims to reshape oversight, discipline
Civilian review boards with subpoena power to investigate police malfeasance, mandatory body and dashboard cameras and the possibility of banning cops from the profession for life are the centerpieces of bipartisan legislation that will reach the General Assembly’s special session later this month.
The 65-page bill, released on the legislature’s website Thursday evening, would also create a new inspector general within the state’s Division of Criminal Justice, with the power to investigate and prosecute law enforcement officials involved in excessive-force incidents.
It would also strip liability protections from rogue officers and open all disciplinary records for public scrutiny.
The reform legislation arose from the Black Lives Matter movement in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who died after a police office kept Floyd’s neck pinned under his knee for for nearly nine minutes.
The bill includes provisions for police departments to study the feasibility of using social workers to help respond to incidents that might be better de-escalated — a partial response to the so-called “defund police” demands by many protesters.
The bill, scheduled to be unveiled Friday morning at the state Capitol, would also change the way police are trained. Cops would be required to report excessive force instances. It
would create a statewide ban on the use of choke holds except when an officer’s life is in danger, similar to Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive order which is scheduled to expire in September.
“I am proud of the bipartisan work we have undertaken,” said state Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee. “This is a robust bill that I believe responds to this moment. We look forward to discussing the bill further tomorrow and to the feedback from our legislative colleagues and the public.”
Stafstrom and Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, the other Judiciary Committee co-chairman, worked with ranking GOP members Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield and Rep. Rosa Rebimbas, R-Naugatuck, on the bill in recent weeks without divulging details of the debate. It was unclear late Thursday what provisions the members of the different parties wanted that did not make it into the proposal.
Under the proposal, decertifying police, effectively banning them from working in other places after an unacceptable encounter, would require “clear and convincing evidence” similar to some of the violent encounters that have sparked the Black Lives Matter movement following Floyd’s death on May 25.
The inspector general would be confirmed by the legislature for a four-year term. Towns and cities would also have the option to create their own civilian review commissions, with unprecedented subpoena power.
Officers who report instances of excessive force would have whistleblower protections, and police disciplinary records would be open to the public under the state Freedom of Information Act. There would also be mandatory mental health screening.
So-called consent searches, in which police stop motorists with minor equipment problems such as malfunctioning tail lights, could not be used as a means to request the search of the entire vehicle. Officers would need probable cause to stop and search vehicles.
The bill also includes provisions to attract racially and ethnically diverse law enforcement personnel.
Nationally, police have come under criticism for responding with force during incidents that might have required only non-violent mediation.
All four committee leaders issued a joint statement Thursday night on the proposal.
“This draft is the product of many hours of joint discussions and review amongst the leaders of our committee,” the statement said. “This proposal is a compilation of those discussions. We have received and appreciated the input from our respective caucuses and the public at large that has gone into the drafting of this bill.”
The special session of the General Assembly is expected to begin around July 20, as legislative leaders are still planning how to deal with 187 members, even more staff and public access to the Capitol, which has been closed since March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic, which terminated the annual regular session.
After Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, and the national and international protests against police brutality, as well as the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, state lawmakers have discussed reforms that in recent years have stalled, such as the mandatory use of cameras, which have been optional for Connecticut law enforcement.
State Rep. Rep. Brandon McGee, D-Hartford, chairman of the legislative Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, who was briefed on the major points of the bill, said the proposal is a big step forward, and he was pleased.
“In the coming weeks, as leaders in the state legislature, we’ll have plenty of negotiations on a final product,” said McGee. “I am hoping and pray that our colleagues land on the right side of history, support equity and transparency in a bill that has teeth and that would hold many of the bad actors accountable. This should not divide us. We should think about the many lives taken by police officers who are bad actors. We have gone so long allowing the misuse of power that law enforcement officers have.”