Could Legislature address police reform next year?

The leader of Oklahoma's Senate on Wednesday set the stage for legislative discussions on police reform.

Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, led an interim study on law enforcement policies, in which experts on law enforcement and state legislatures across the country shared dozens of ideas for how to improve state and local law enforcement.

Whether those ideas will become legislation in time for the 2021 legislative session that begins in February is yet to be determined, Treat said.

Legislators often hold interim studies to explore issues of interest, especially if they are considering legislation on that topic.

“I am not the expert, but I do want to have a conversation in the Senate including law enforcement, including victims, including members of the minority community,” Treat said. “We must be able to trust each other and trust that law enforcement is there for the betterment of the community.”

Treat said the key to a productive discussion on police reform is depoliticizing the issue that has become one of the most hot-button political topics this year following national calls for racial justice amid police killings.

One of the speakers at Wednesday' s legislative panel was a Democratic legislator from Colorado who helped craft a broad new law to improve police accountability and transparency. The law from Colorado Rep. Leslie Harrod, who is Black, bans t he use of chokeholds and bars police from using deadly force against suspects in most instances.

The measure also requires state and local officers to be equipped with body cameras by 2023 and eliminates qualified immunity that protects police officers from lawsuits.

Treat has no plans to duplicate the Colorado legislation, saying ending qualified immunity may not work in Oklahoma. But Treat is intrigued at the idea of reforming the Oklahoma

Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training in order to raise law enforcement standards.

Treat said others seemed surprised he had invited a Democrat to speak. It's going to take everyone getting involved to have a serious conversation about police reform, he said.

“I'm a Republican, and I very much believe in the tenets of the Republican Party, but we cannot ignore other voices in the community,” Treat said. “We've got to be really good at listening. It can't just be boiled down to a simple phrase one way or another.”

More than 30 states and the District of Columbia have introduced police reform legislation this year, said Amber Widgery, of the National Conference of State Legislatures. Widery, who specializes in criminal justice policy, outlined some of the reforms being considered in other states.

Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, said he' s interest ed in making it easier for law enforcement entities to share information on employees who were fired for misconduct.

Paxton also warned his colleagues that enacting police reforms won't be easy.

“We're going to get a lot of pressure to leave things along, leave things the way they are,” he said .“It takes one bad cop, one time to bring down the whole profession in this state.”