Massachusetts federal delegation pushes to end qualified immunity for police
Massachusetts Democrats are introducing a bill to fully end qualified immunity nationwide after efforts to eliminate the legal doctrine that protects police officers from civil liability failed last year.
The bill is nearly identical to one U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley filed last summer in the immediate aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police, which ultimately failed.
“We must fully end the doctrine of qualified immunity which for too long has shielded law enforcement from accountability and denied recourse for the countless families robbed of their loved ones,” said Pressley. “There can be no justice without healing and accountability, and there can be no true accountability with qualified immunity.”
In announcing the renewed push for greater police accountability, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey listed the names of other Black men killed at the hands of police — including Daniel Prude of New York and Elijah McClain of Colorado.
“And countless others that make clear our justice system is failing to hold accountable law enforcement officers who engage in police brutality and kill Black and Brown Americans,” Markey said in a statement.
The bill has earned the support of dozens of cosponsors — including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren — and endorsements from civil rights organizations like the ACLU and the NAACP, but is sure to stir tensions with police groups.
“If the feds do this, then there’s increased liability on cities and towns across the country. Who’s going to pay for that?” said Sgt. Jim Machado of Massachusetts Police Association, the state’s largest union of law enforcement officers. “It’s going to fall on the backs of the taxpayers.”
Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association President Mark Leahy called qualified immunity a “greatly misunderstood legal principle” that warrants further study, not “kneejerk action.”
“Most people don’t understand that it does absolutely nothing to shield a police officer from criminal prosecution, only civil. It’s about lawsuits,” said Leahy, the former Northboro police chief.
Qualified immunity was a major sticking point in the debate around a landmark police reform bill passed into law by the state Legislature last session. The law also established a special commission to study the doctrine and report back to the Legislature with findings and recommendations later this year.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2Pe8fM7
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