State’s top prosecutor ready for police reforms
Colangelo said he’s prepared to take immediate action, but lawmakers need to create a plan
As protests in response to the killing of George Floyd rile emotions in local communities and spill onto Connecticut highways, the state’s top prosecutor says he is prepared to implement police accountability reforms, but he’s leaving the specific plan up to lawmakers.
“Anything that the legislature deems appropriate, I’m going to make sure the Division of Criminal Justice implements as quickly as I can,” Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo said Wednesday in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media.
Calls for greater police and prosecutorial accountability have echoed loudly throughout the state as protesters have staged mostly peaceful demonstrations on highways and local streets following Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer last month.
The officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes while other officers stood by without intervening as the incident was captured on video. Floyd died as he was being taken into custody on the suspicion he was trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill.
Gov. Ned Lamont and legislators are calling for a special session to deal with aspects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has halted many government and business functions, and to enact police reforms in response to Floyd’s death.
Colangelo has decried the death as criminal. He expects the state’s Police Officer Standards and Training Council will move to prohibit chokeholds and require additional police training during its next meeting.
But he also expects the legislature to develop other reforms that will likely change the way his office does business and he would like to have a role in shaping the legislation.
“I’ve offered to help any way I can,” he said.
As part of the legislative package, Colangelo is seeking a change in the 2019 police accountability law that requires the release of dash and body camera videos within 96 hours of an incident involving police use of force. Colangelo is seeking to alter the law to protect witnesses and footage that could impair the integrity of the investigations into the use of force.
He wants the law changed so investigators can request a judge to issue a protective order, allowing portions of any video to be withheld from public view under narrow circumstances. The exceptions would include protecting witnesses who may have been captured on the video or portions of the footage that would affect “the integrity of the investigation.”
“I recognize that we want to be as transparent as we can, and the public wants it, so we should release it,” Colangelo said.
But state Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, who crafted the 2019 legislation, said changing the law in the current climate is unlikely.
“I am always open to a conversation given that I wrote the laws in 2015 and 2019 that govern the release,” said Winfield, who is the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. “But I’ve been given no reason to make any changes. I think in the moment we are in, the existing law doesn’t need to be changed.”
Winfield is expected to release a draft of proposed legislation that would likely include independent investigations of police use of force. Under current state law, Colangelo assigns a state's attorney from a different jurisdiction to investigate deadly use-offorce incidents.
Colangelo said independent investigations would have to be done by people who are experts in the field and it could be problematic for those who don't routinely gather evidence at incident scenes. He also pointed out the state's constitution delineates the Division of Criminal Justice as the only authority that can conduct criminal prosecutions.
Colangelo said he is on board with transparency and has embraced a separate law that requires his office and prosecutors throughout the state to compile a wide array of arrest and court information, which will be turned over annually to the legislature.
Soon after he was appointed chief state’s attorney on Jan. 30, Colangelo led the effort to create a manager of research and planning position for someone to gather data from the 13 state judicial districts to determine what type of crimes and arrests were happening.
The data gathered will not only help with the requirements outlined in the prosecutorial transparency law, but will allow his office to examine information beyond what is required to be collected and released to the legislature, he said.
“It will allow us to get a sense of what work we’re actually handling, what locations need help and what locations where violent crimes are taking place,” Colangelo said. “Up to this point, what we gave to the legislature was all anecdotal. This will allow us to look at the big picture and allow us to prepare information judicial district by judicial district so I have an understanding of what we need in each one.”
The state Police Accountability and Transparency Task Force on Wednesday released its priorities and recommendations for reforms. The 20 preliminary recommendations, including a ban on chokeholds and neck restraints, will be discussed Tuesday.
While Colangelo said he will implement whatever police accountability policies the legislature enacts, he also cautioned that calls for a change in the way use of deadly force investigations are conducted would need to be vetted against federal case law.
“It’s under the purview of the legislature,” Colangelo said. “But our current law is based on federal law and court decisions that have interpreted that law. My only concern is that any change they make should have constitutional precedent. My standard is that the law can’t be overturned, that’s the only concern I have. Whatever the legislature decides, I will follow and make sure it’s implemented.”