Officials: Ending cop immunity a tough sell in reform bill

HARTFORD — If one Black Lives Matter-related proposal is likely to be revised before the wide-ranging bill on police reform and accountability is debated in the General Assembly next week, it’s a provision that would end the immunity that shields cops from civil lawsuits for improper actions on the job.

Negotiations on the full extent of the bill, one of four that the House and Senate will have before them during the special session, could result in the immunity proposal getting dropped entirely from the legislation. Or it could be revised to include only the most-egregious kinds of incidents, such as the injury or death of those detained by police.

State Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, deputy House minority leader, said Wednesday since people with complaints about police behavior can sue the municipality or police department, the provision is less needed, particularly since other provisions are in the bill to end the careers of rogue law enforcement figures by terminating their professional certifications.

“Eliminating qualified immunity doesn’t accomplish much,” Candelora said. “I don’t think that achieves the goal when you want to make sure that bad actors don’t remain on the force. I think our focus should be addressing the grievance process.”

Candelora said he understands the national movement to end the immunity, along with a list of other items included in the pending bill, including local civilian review boards with subpoena power; outlawing chokeholds; a new inspector general; and mandatory dashboard and body cameras for police.

But negotiations to widen support for the bill, including among more Republicans, could focus on the controversial immunity piece. A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for Friday. The House would take it up July 23, with the Senate meeting the following week under a plan outlined Tuesday.

“We put a lot of things on the table with this bill, so undoubtedly there will be some revisions,” said state Rep. Steve Stafstrom, DBridgeport, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who along with state Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, will lead the planned 12-hour-long, virtual public hearing on the bill Friday from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.

Placed on the legislative calendar as a “listening” session, the committee is seeking public testimony for the Zoom meeting, in which participants will be given a place in the speaking order and will be informed of their approximate time for testifying for a three-minute limit.

The Rev. Stephen A. Cousin, Jr., pastor of the Bethel A.M.E. Church in New Haven, a member of the state Police Transparency and Accountability Task Force, said after a Wednesday news conference in favor of the overall reforms held by local leaders of African Methodist Episcopal Churches on the steps of the state Capitol, that he understands that there are many voices that will be heard and that the bill is likely to change.

But a key component would be the regular mentalhealth assessments for law enforcement personnel, he said.

“I know one of the issues that are being presented is about qualified immunity,” Cousin said in an interview. “And so for our position, we know it’s a sensitive subject, especially for the feelings of the police officers who feel that they are not being protected. So it can’t just be a one-sided conversation. We all need to feel valued and we all need to feel protected in our lives, our work and in our personal spaces. For us, we actually welcome the debate on qualified immunity. For me, it’s not a dealbreaker if it’s actually not in the bill, where it can actually be referred back to the task force, for them to further review it.”

During the news conference in which about a dozen church leaders stressed the need for better police accountability, the Rev. Kevin T. Taylor, pastor of the Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church in Hartford, said that congregations throughout the state this weekend will be asked to support the police reforms.

Cousin, during the news conference, said he would support both raising the minimum age for police officers from 21 to “24 or 25,” and increasing the educational requirements from the current high school diploma, to at least a an associate’s degree.

He said it’s an important moment.

“It is rare in history where we are talking about the same issues and Democrats and Republicans alike are coming to the table to ask what can we do to make a change?” Cousin said. “This is so necessary for communities of color to begin the healing process and start building trust between law enforcement and communities. We understand that there is much to be discussed in this bill. There are some issues that need to be ironed out, but we are in a rare moment in time. History has its eyes on us.”

Three other pieces of legislation for which Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to issue the call and scope of the special session would be mail-in balloting for the November election; capping prices on insulin; and broadening the allowable uses of telemedicine.

In behind-the-scenes lobbying, statewide union officials have been attempting to insert provisions to allow front line personnel in the coronavirus pandemic the presumption Worker’s Compensation coverage if they contract COVID-19.

And state Sen. Douglas McCrory, D-Hartford, cochairman of the Education Committee, has proposed a 10-year, $1 billion proposal to invest in the urban centers in a campaign to end poverty and promote minority economic interests.

Lamont has stood fast to the limited scope of the special session, stressing that a follow-up special session in September could be held for those issues, plus the annual school-construction and land-transfer bills.