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Chief State's Attorney Richard Colangelo
Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut MediaChief State's Attorney Richard Colangelo
Chief State's Attorney Richard Colangelo
Chief State's Attorney Richard Colangelo
Police officials on Friday harshly criticized a section of pending reform legislation that would eliminate their longtime protections from civil lawsuits for abusing their powers.
Andrew Matthews, a former State Police sergeant who heads the Connecticut State Police Union, told the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee that many troopers will retire or resign if lawmakers remove so-called qualified immunity in cases of the death or injury of detained suspects.
Matthews complimented lawmakers for not entirely banning the use of choke holds, which would be allowed in cases where law enforcement fears for their lives.
“No one ever intentionally goes into a situation and uses excessive force,” Mathews said during the first hour of an expected 12-hour Zoom hearing aired on CT-N. Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary, a retired former chief of police in his city, had similar concerns.
But state Rep. Brandon McGee, D-Hartford, chairman of the legislative Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, said that there must be a way to challenge law enforcement officials who cannot adhere to standards.
“In the end, if police are doing nothing wrong, they have nothing to be afraid of, right?” McGee said during the morning portion of the hearing, during which speakers were limited to three-minute statements.
In a first-of-its-kind event in state government’s new normal, the historic police-reform legislation won praise from proponents of the proposals.
The bill would open up disciplinary records for public scrutiny, utilize more social workers to defuse some incidents, and establish local civilian review boards with subpoena powers.
“We need to hear from the public, especially in the moment,” said Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, co-chairman of the committee, who drafted the bill with his co-chair, Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport.
“I’m looking for real transformational change in the way we’re policing,” said Barbara Fair, a social worker and longtime West Haven activist. “This is about 401 years of terrorism against Black people in this country.”
At least 151 people registered for the event by early Friday morning, in preparation to air the bill in time for debate and action in the state House of Representatives next week and the Senate later in July.
The hearing comes as Black Lives Matters protests of June and early July have tapered off, but it’s a moment that progressive, mostly Democratic lawmakers believe is crucial to act.
Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo, who was recently promoted to the statewide post, recommended that instead of an inspector general, as written in the draft legislation, another state’s attorney team, including detectives and a crime-scene analyst with the power to issue subpoenas, be created to investigate police misconduct. He said the cost would be about $1.9 million a year for staffing the team.
Kristan Peters-Hamlin, a former federal prosecutor who serves on the Westport Representative Town Meeting, said that the legislation should enable the creation of elected, not appointed, local civilian review boards, to assure their independence. She also suggested penalties for officers who fail to properly use their body cameras, which in her experience have been abused.
Shortly after noon, Janice Colandrea of Meriden said she supports the existing protections for police. “I feel like this is a knee jerk reaction to what’s going around this country,” she said, charging that cops will be hindered in their work by the legislation. “Who in their right mind would go into this career with this going on?”
This precipitated a back-and-forth between Colandrea and state Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, who detailed occasions of racial profiling.
“We all do have our different views and experiences and this is why we’re here listening,” said Rep. Rosa Rebimbas, R-Naugatuck, ranking member of the committee. “I think everyone on this panel has very good intentions.”
kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
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During historic virtual hearing, police want to retain their protections from civil lawsuits - CTPost
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