In the wake of protests against police brutality and systemic racism, Gov. Charlie Baker filed a new bill Wednesday that’s designed to increase police accountability …
In the wake of protests against police brutality and systemic racism, Gov. Charlie Baker filed a new bill Wednesday that’s designed to increase police accountability and creates a framework to certify law enforcement officers for the first time in Massachusetts’ history.
“The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police officers made clear that now is the time to get this done,” Baker said during a Wednesday press briefing alongside members of the state’s Black and Latino Legislative Caucus.
The new legislation, he said, establishes a process for de-certifying police who “don’t live up” to their oath, ensures that police departments in and outside the commonwealth have access to a database of officers’ training and disciplinary records, offers incentives for officers to pursue extra training in foreign language skills or advanced de-escalation techniques, and a certification process for officers that must be renewed every three years — which is consistent with other Mass. professions in medicine, education, and social work.
“The bill we’re filing today is the first step in a process that we hope will create a package of reforms that accomplishes the goals that we all share,” Baker said, noting that his administration has been working to craft the proposal for a year now. “Improving law enforcement is just one piece of this process.”
Baker said the bill would also establish a new task force, the Police Officer Standards and Accreditation Committee, composed of both law enforcement and local residents, half of whom would be required to be people of color.
