Senate Bill 217, ‘The Law Enforcement Integrity Act’ passed 52-13 in the Colorado House on June 12, 2020. It now heads to the Governor’s desk for his signature.
“This is a historic day,” said Representative Leslie Herod. “In response to the protests and outcry from the community, today, we took action that will correct the ways in which law enforcement interacts with the public.”
She continues, “It shouldn’t have taken this long. The community has been pleading for law enforcement reform for generations now, and today we answered their plea. This bill is a cultivation of so many people’s hard work and I am honored to have taken it over the finish line with Rep. Gonzales-Gutierrez. This long-fought struggle for true justice has been going on for generations, and although this is a great victory for the movement, our work is nowhere near done.”
SB20-217, the Law Enforcement Integrity Act, enacts several provisions that will prevent police brutality and increase transparency and accountability in Colorado’s law enforcement system. Outlined below are among the bill’s key provisions:
Mandate body cameras, make video of police misconduct publicly available, and hold officers accountable when they fail to record. Officers will have to record interactions with the public and, when they turn off their camera, they will be held accountable. When officers are accused of misconduct, the body cam footage must be released to the public within 21 days, and ensures the victim of the officer misconduct and the victim’s family receive the footage 72 hours prior to public release.
Require data collection and public reporting on policing. All law enforcement agencies will be required to track demographic data of individuals they encounter. This data will include any use of force (both the type and severity), civilian searches, forced entries into homes, and the unholstering and discharge of a firearm.
Rein in use of deadly force by officers. Changes use of force standard to (1) outlaw chokeholds; (2) outlaw deadly force against someone fleeing the police who does not pose an immediate risk; (3) outlaw the use of deadly force to arrest people for minor offenses and non-violent offenses; and (3) require officers to use non-violent means before resorting to any force.
Require Officers to Intervene to Stop Excessive Force. Creates a duty for officers to intervene and stop excessive force, and makes failure to intervene by an officer a criminal offense.
De-certify bad officers. If a court or internal investigations finds that an officer used unlawful force or officer is convicted of a violent offense, tampered with body camera footage to cover up misconduct, or failed to intervene to stop unlawful use of force that results in serious bodily injury or death, the officer will lose POST certification, thus stopping bad police officers from continuing to put the public at risk.
Public Database to Prevent Rehiring of bad officers. Officers who are found untruthful, terminated for cause, or decertified would be listed in a publicly-available database to prevent them from moving from one agency to another.
Justice for Victims of Police Violence by Ending Qualified Immunity. The bills allows victims of police misconduct to bring a lawsuit for the violation of their constitutional rights. Officers found liable will no longer be shielded by the doctrine of qualified immunity which has served to protect bad officers from accountability and denied justice to victims.
Protect protesters from police use of tear gas and projectiles. In response to incidents at recent protests, this bill prohibits law enforcement officers from shooting rubber bullets indiscriminately into a crowd and prohibits targeting rubber bullets at someone’s head, torso, or back. It also prohibits using tear gas without first warning the crowd, and giving people time and a route to disperse.
Attorney General Lawsuits Against Bad Police Departments. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring lawsuits to force bad police departments to change and to bring criminal charges against officers for violations of POST standards.
Representative Serena Gonzales-Guitierrez, co-sponsor of Senate Bill 217, states, “It’s not every day we have the opportunity to vote on a true life and death issue in the legislature, but that’s exactly what we did today,” said Rep. Gonzales-Gutierrez, D-Denver.
“The bill we passed today will make lasting, overdue change to our law enforcement system and will hopefully prevent the deaths of Black and Brown people at the hands of police in Colorado. I am honored to have accomplished this work with another woman of color, Representative Herod.”
Senate Bill 217 was sent to the Governor’s Desk to be signed into law.
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