BOSTON (WHDH) - The state Legislature is preparing to finalize a controversial police reform bill as Black Lives Matter protests continue around the country, but is coming under fire for walking back attempts to stop qualified immunity.
On Friday the House-approved version of the bill watered down a provision that would end qualified immunity, which protects officers from liability in use of force cases. Instead of abolishing it, which was in the Senate’s version of the bill, the House version revokes it only in cases where a police officer is de-certified by a newly-created review board.
The ACLU of Massachusetts was initially supportive of the reform but panned the changes.
“Ultimately, this piece of legislation misses the mark, because it will not help victims of violence hold police accountable,” the organization said in a statement. “In order to make any laws about excessive use of force or other police abuses meaningful, Massachusetts must reform our civil rights laws—including by ending qualified immunity, which denies victims their day in court.”
And on Sunday, Cindy Chesna, the wife of the late Sgt. Michael Chesna, also criticized the reform bill. Chesna’s husband was shot and killed in the line of duty two years ago and in a Facebook post, she said politicians turned their backs on her husband and other officers.
“Those same politicians are showing the utmost disrespect to our officers with this reform bill,” Chesna said. “My children are growing up in a world where police are vilified. Their father was not a villain, he was a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice. His memory should never be tarnished by anyone.”
The bill is now headed to a joint Senate / House committee, where the two versions will have to be reconciled before the State House goes into recess at the end of the week.
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