A bill overhauling how Rhode Island police departments handle misconduct cleared an important hurdle Thursday, clearing the House of Representatives on a 58-to-14 vote, although supporters and critics clashed on whether the legislation goes far enough to ensure public accountability.
Efforts to change the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights, or LEOBOR, were a non-starter for years after the law was created in 1976, largely due to the influence of police unions.
The murder of George Floyd in Minnesota in 2020 changed the equation, although attempts to pass a LEOBOR overhaul broke down in the General Assembly in each of the last two legislative sessions.
Supporters like House Speaker Joe Shekarchi said the measure passed by the House will boost transparency and accountability.
“Believe me, it was a very hard-fought negotiation,” Shekarchi told reporters after the vote. “And if you go ask any of the parties at the table, no one’s going to walk away and say they loved this bill — no one! Because everybody had to give up something, in some cases a lot, but people can say they can live with this bill and that’s the only way you’re going to achieve progress.”
The House passed the LEOBOR bill after a two-hour debate.
Opponents focused criticism on how the LEOBOR bill would not allow a police chief to summarily terminate an officer accused of wrongfully using lethal force.
During an afternoon news conference, members of the RI Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian-American and Pacific Islander Caucus said they are concerned that the bill will slow the path of justice.
“In New York, after Eric Garner was killed in 2014, it took that police department until 2019 to terminate that officer’s employment,” said Sen. Jonathan Acosta (D-Central Falls). “In Minneapolis, after George Floyd was killed, that department terminated [Officer Derek Chauvin’s] employment within 24 hours. In Rhode Island, we are in the New York scenario.”
Supporters, however, said the LEOBOR bill allows for the indefinite suspension without pay of an officer accused of wrongfully using force, and said the officer could be terminated after a criminal conviction.
Acosta declined to offer details, although he said lawmakers who opposed the LEOBOR bill were threatened with retaliation — an accusation flatly denied by Shekarchi.
State Rep. Jose Batista (D-Providence) introduced a floor amendment meant to address critics’ concern, but a vote on it never happened due to a parliamentary procedure to lay the amendment on the table, initiated by Floor Manager Rep. John Edwards (D-Tiverton), that passed 47-25.
Major changes in the LEOBOR bill include:
— Changing from three to five the number of people on the panel that will preside over LEOBOR hearings. The panels will be composed of three police officers, a retired judge and a lawyer chosen in consultation with the Supreme Court’s Committee on Racial and Ethnic Fairness and the Rhode Island Bar Association’s Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion.
— Enabling a two-tier suspension structure, allowing police chiefs to impose suspensions of up to five days for lesser infractions and up to 14 days for serious ones. The chiefs will also be able to make public statements and release video evidence in cases other than summary suspensions for minor infractions of departmental policy.
— Requiring the publishing of the status and other information related to pending LEOBOR hearings on a public website.
The passage of the bill was praised in statements by the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association and Attorney General Peter Neronha.
The LEOBOR bill passed by the House is different from a Senate version passed earlier this year. The Senate is expected to pass the House version of the bill Tuesday, clearing a path for the legislation to go to the desk of Gov. Dan McKee.