Colorado is reforming its police policies in light of the George Floyd protests. Colorado cops, if passed, will be given additional restrictions that make them far more susceptible to legal action and far more likely to lose their badges.
“The legislation, SB20-217 “Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity,” proposes several key reforms, according to the bill summary.
Beginning in mid-2023, “all local law enforcement agencies and the Colorado state patrol to issue body-worn cameras to their officers and requires all recordings of an incident be released to the public within 21 days after the local law enforcement agency or Colorado state patrol receives a complaint of misconduct,” states the summary.”
“In protest situations, officers cannot shoot “kinetic impact projectiles” at a civilian’s “head, pelvis, or back,” or send them “indiscriminately into a crowd.” Additionally, they cannot employ chemical irritants unless a warning has been made clear and time has been provided for the protesters to leave.”
“If an “officer is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to a crime involving the unlawful use or threatened use of physical force, the P.O.S.T. board shall permanently revoke the peace officer’s certification.” The P.O.S.T. (Peace Officer Standards and Training) board cannot reverse the decertification unless the officer is “exonerated by a court.”
Chokeholds will be prohibited. Officers will also need a “legal basis for making a contact,” and the rules surrounding the “use of deadly force” will be altered, according to the summary.”
The legislation holds other officers on the scene responsible if they do not stop an officer from using unlawful force. Looks like police in Colorado are coming under some serious scrutiny to prevent any further deaths. It seems odd that despite Floyd’s death occurring in Minneapolis it’s Colorado decided to change. But seeing as to how some blue states have been reacting to the protests, I’m surprised they didn’t give the protesters the keys to the city.
I see more dead police in the future. some of this I agree with but when bricks, rocks, and frozen bottles of water are being thrown at you you aren’t going to want to just stand there while giving the offenders time to disperse. You could end up seriously injured or dead. Each situation needs to be consider individually and not by a blanket of how to respond. The police union should not be allowed to determined if a police officer gets fired for bad behavior. It should be determined by the individual officer’s behavior period.