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A bill expanding immunity for law enforcement officers is headed to the full House of Representatives after the House Judiciary Committee passed an amended version of the bill Wednesday.
Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, criticized the bill’s length and complexity, saying the intent of the bill could be accomplished with much cleaner language.
“There’s a much easier way to do that than this … and actually that easier way would take this bill from 22 pages o about three,” England said. “… You will get to that goal without 20 other pages here that, in my opinion, are quite confusing.”
The bill repeals a section of Alabama law that already provides immunity to municipal officers, and lawmakers added more language to ensure municipal officers did not lose those protections.
HB202 by Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, raises the standards of immunity for law enforcement officers and creates new procedures that could frustrate efforts to hold them accountable for wrongdoing.
Reynolds said the recent charges against the entire Hanceville police force is a good example of where the law would not provide additional immunity.
“That is a perfect example for a judge to say that was clearly reckless and outside the scope of the officer’s duties, so they would not seek protection under this bill,” Reynolds said.
The bill would protect all law enforcement officers from civil liability or prosecution unless their actions are deemed reckless or they violate a victim’s constitutional rights. The bill also establishes a pretrial hearing for a judge to determine whether the officer is immune.
An amendment offered by Rep. Ontario Tillman, D-Birmingham, and approved by the committee changed the language regarding that pretrial hearing to ensure the judge would be deciding the cop’s immunity and not a jury.
England said the bill could create dangerous situations for police by creating a sense among the public that officers will not be held accountable for their actions.
“If we ever lose the ability—or if a person ever believes that law enforcement cannot be held accountable—the tension, the frustration, the anger at the traffic stop increases exponentially,” England said. “Because if you don’t think that you have redress at the end of the day, then you start thinking I’ve got to take matters into my own hands when we first meet.”
England said the bill effectively draws law enforcement officers as a “special class” of people that can avoid criminal prosecution.
