Changes to the Law Enforcement Officer Bill of Rights regarding internal investigations pass the General Assembly.
The House Bill passed unanimously by the Senate Friday requires detailed narratives of internal investigations of officers in cases involving the use of force that results in serious physical injury, the discharge of a firearm, or a sustained finding of sexual assault or sexual harassment, dishonesty, or domestic violence.
It also requires investigations into officer misconduct must be completed, regardless of whether the officer is still employed, resigns, or retires.
Although every Senator voted yes, some GOP members like State Sen. Dave Lawson still expressed concerns.
“The bill addresses what law enforcement pretty much already does to police its own," Lawson says. "I don’t know that we needed it, but if you want to do that then that’s fine. But again I’m really tired of seeing the condemnation of law enforcement and law enforcement being taken to task constantly for a few bad actors, and there are, admittedly.”
But bill co-sponsor State Sen. Tizzy Lockman says the bigger concern is lack of transparency.
“And that has led to strong distrust in the system about whether or not law enforcement is effectively policing itself,” Lockman says.
The bill has received criticism from both sides of aisle — some say it goes too far, while others say it doesn't do enough.
State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, the sole lawmaker who voted against the legislation, previously noted that while the bill has been amended to address some basic concerns from civil rights advocates — including requiring law enforcement to disclose the outcome of investigations to complainants or victims of police misconduct rather than giving departments the option to disclose that information — it does not address the more fundamental concerns raised by police oversight advocates.
"What point is there to disclosing information about the outcome of a misconduct investigation when the investigation process itself wasn’t fair and independent?" she says. "At the end of the day, a victim or complainant still relies on police to investigate themselves, decide to initiate a formal investigation, and determine if there was wrongdoing or not."
The bill now heads to the Governor’s desk for his signature.
