New bill would end qualified immunity for police officers in Illinois

A bill that would put an end to qualified immunity for police officers is making its way through the Illinois House.

The Bad Apples in Law Enforcement Accountability Act of 2021 would allow for civil litigation against law enforcement officers if they ‘deprive any individual rights guaranteed under the Illinois Constitution.’

Officers who ‘fail to intervene’ could also be held accountable.

Governor Pritzker signed a police reform bill in February that included ending cash bail. The end to qualified immunity was included in an early version of Pritzker’s Illinois police reform bill but was left out.

Several local law enforcement agencies strongly opposed the measure and a petition urging Pritzker to veto the bill garnered more than 150,000 signatures.

Those who oppose the action say the bill prohibits peace officers from fulfilling their sworn oath and duty.

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House Passes New Bill To Abolish Qualified Immunity For Police

On a largely party-line vote, the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday night approved the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (H.R. 1280), a massive overhaul of American policing that would make it much easier to sue rogue officers. Among its many provisions, the bill would eliminate “qualified immunity” for all local, state, and federal law enforcement officers. Under qualified immunity, government officials escape any legal liability for civil rights violations unless the victim can show that their rights were “clearly established” at the time.

Thanks to this loophole, federal courts have upheld qualified immunity to Fresno officers accused of stealing more than $225,000 in cash and rare coins, an Idaho SWAT team that bombarded an innocent mom’s home with tear gas grenades, and a Georgia sheriff’s deputy who accidentally shot a 10-year-old boy while aiming for the family’s dog. 

“We as a country have a choice: We can either choose police accountability, or choose qualified immunity, but we cannot choose both,” one of the act’s original cosponsors, Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY), said on the House floor. “The purpose of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is not to second guess officers who act in good faith, the objective is to hold liable officers who repeatedly abuse their power and who rarely, if ever, face consequences for their repeat abuses.”

A nearly identical version of the bill passed the House last summer but never got a floor vote in the Senate. Though the Justice in Policing Act still faces an uphill battle this session, prospects are brighter. Ending qualified immunity is backed by around two-thirds of Americans, including many prominent celebrities like Tom Brady and the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s.

Moreover, the bill has been endorsed by the Biden Administration, while some Senate Republicans have signaled they may be amenable to compromise. For instance, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) who last summer called eliminating qualified immunity a “poison pill,” on Tuesday said that he was “open to having conversations on civil qualified immunity as it relates to police departments, cities, and municipalities being held accountable for the actions of those they employ.”

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Maryland police reform would repeal officer due process protections

 Every Wednesday, for 395 weeks, Tawanda Jones has held a vigil to protest the death of her brother, Tyrone West, who died after a struggle with Baltimore police in 2013.

Jones’ protests used to take place on the streets of Baltimore, but since the pandemic, she has moved her activism online, where she recently waited late into the night to testify in support of an effort to create greater police accountability in Maryland.

Jones hopes the time has come to repeal the state’s Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights — police protections in state law she says have shielded authorities from responsibility, including the officers who she believes suffocated her brother.

“I call it a security blanket for them that allows them to brutalize us,” said Jones, a school teacher.

A package of police reforms in Maryland this year prompted by the death of George Floyd in Minnesota includes a proposed repeal of a law that has become common across the country. Critics say the laws have long stood as a barrier to officer discipline and accountability. Maryland first enacted it in 1974, and about 20 states have adopted similar laws setting due process procedure for investigating police misconduct, including California, Florida and Texas.

After protests in the aftermath of Floyd’s death, police reform advocates now hope the first state to enact the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights will be the first to repeal it, setting a model for other states to improve police accountability. Police union leaders, however, are concerned the changes could erode important law enforcement protections.

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Portland PD has 'lowest number of sworn employees' in 25-plus years

The Portland Police Bureau now has the "lowest number of sworn employees" in more than 25 years, prompting the department to reassign certain personnel as a way to decrease overtime costs, officials announced.

On Thursday, Portland police reassigned sergeants and officers from three precincts "in an effort to reduce overtime costs" –  just one day after an Oregonian/Oregon Live report detailing how Police Chief Chuck Lovell has asked city commissioners to decrease department budget cuts to just 1% so they can hire more personnel.

"Due to the fact that the bureau has its lowest number of sworn employees in over 25 years (824 sworn members), and because of enormous costs associated with events of 2020, the Bureau took this step to save money," the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) said in a Thursday press release regarding the reorganization.

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