Two Police Reform Packages Proposed Today

One package that was proposed by the Legislative Black Caucus, and one that was proposed by Attorney General Kathleen Jennings.  Gotta say, the package proposed by the AG is much bolder and more directly addresses the police reform issues we’ve discussed.

Here is the proposal from the Legislative Black Caucus:

• Pass Senate Bill 191, a bill introduced in February, which would start the process of amending the Delaware Constitution to protect against discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin.
• Create an African American Task Force that would look at racial inequities in Delaware and propose ways to change those inequities. The task force would also commit to investing in historically black communities over the next five years.
• Prohibit law enforcement from releasing mugshots or other photographs of juvenile defendants.
• Require all Delaware law enforcement to video-record all interrogations of juvenile suspects and defendants, except under certain circumstances.
• Amend the Delaware Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights to allow criminal defendants’ legal counsel to receive internal affairs investigative records of law enforcement officers accused of wrongdoing.
• Create a Law Enforcement Accountability Task Force made up of stakeholders, including police officers and impacted citizens, who would consider issues and proposals regarding the use of force, civil rights protections, transparency and community policing.

Frankly, that’s pretty weak. Make that very weak. We pass a ceremonial amendment to the Constitution, we create not one, but two task forces.  We slightly amend the Police Bill of Rights to give defense attorneys access to internal investigations, but continue to shut out the public, and we pass two pretty good initiatives to protect the rights of juvenile defendants.  I must say, I’m disappointed.

Contrast that package with the Attorney General’s proposals:

• Change the police use of force statute to require belief in the necessity of force to be “objectively reasonable.” The attorney general argues that the current statute is “unclear and entirely subjective,” and does not require an officer to show that the use of force was actually necessary. 
• Create a statewide use of force standard for every police agency. Officers would be required to exhaust all other “reasonable alternatives” before using deadly force, according to the attorney general’s office. Officers would also have to intervene to stop another officer for using excessive force. Officers would also have to report a violation of use of force policy. This standard would be the minimum, and agencies could adopt higher standards.
• Create a law that criminalizes the knowing or reckless deprivation of someone’s constitutional rights.
• Create a statewide civilian review board that would do independent reviews of police misconduct cases.
• Change the disciplinary process for officers to add more transparency and accountability for misconduct, including amending the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights. Investigations would go unimpeded. Drug and alcohol testing would also be required following a use of force incident.  
• Disclose videos of police shootings. However, if releasing the video to the public would jeopardize an accused’s right to a fair trial, the state would have to withhold publishing it before introducing it in the courtroom as evidence. 
• Create a public, statewide database of police misconduct findings and a public “Do Not Hire” list of officers who have been fired or resigned due to abuse of force or misconduct. 
• Ban the forfeiture of property when it’s not part of an arrest for a felony. 
• Encourage all police agencies to adopt community-oriented policing policies consistent with the report on 21st Century Policing.  
• Review and reform programs between probation and parole and law enforcement that currently provide expanded search and seizure opportunities for those on probation to analyze racial impact and effectiveness.
• Pass the remaining criminal justice reform bills that were proposed in 2019. The bills tackle laws related to sentencing and fines that reform advocates say disproportionately hurt minority and low-income residents.

Now, that, right there, would address every single issue we’ve discussed.  The use-of-force standards would be strengthened to have serious teeth. The Police Bill Of Rights would ensure the release of relevant information on officer transgressions, the bleeping ‘civil forfeiture’ law would be eliminated unless property was seized as part of a felony arrest. And a whole lot more.   Including creating a  public statewide database of police misconduct and a statewide public ‘Do Not Hire’ list.  This is the real deal. I have never, ever, seen such an all-encompassing police reform package.  And it came from the Attorney General!

I can see it now.  What passes for legislative leadership might embrace the Black Caucus package because (a) it doesn’t do much, and (b) it provides them political cover.

But what the State of Delaware needs is the adoption of the Attorney General’s proposals.  I’ll be honest–the Attorney General has thrown down the gauntlet to the cops.  Their relationship will be well worth watching going forward.