MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes announced a series of legislative proposals aimed at reducing the number of people killed in confrontations with law enforcement officers.
The bills come in the wake of protests that have taken place around the country. The protests were spurred by incidents such as the deaths of George Floyd in Minnesota. Protesters have maintained that racism leads to greater risk of black people being killed in incidents with law enforcement.
“We know we don’t have all of the answers – no one does,” Evers said in a news release. “This legislation is a first step toward dismantling the systems we’ve created, but it can only be a first step. Racism and racial disparities can’t be solved with any single bill or package of bills, or person – it’s on all of us, together. We must meet this movement with our empathy and our compassion, but most of all we must meet it with action.”
Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith says, “We’ve been expecting this because the community is really crying out for some changes the way we do business as law enforcement so this is just I think the first step in some concrete changes that the governor wants us to make.”
Evers and Barnes stopped short of calling the Legislature into special session to take up the bills. Recent special sessions called by the Democratic leaders have failed to result in action by the Republican-led Legislature.
“Calling another special session where legislative leaders come in and gavel in and gavel out risks us losing this incredible moment in history where we can and should be able to work together to get something accomplished,” Evers and Barnes said in the release. “We should not need a special session when people across our state are demanding we take action.”
Lawmakers and police officers agree that they would like to work on the series of bills together as a community.
Republican Assemblyman David Steffen says, “”Having that broad input from both parties, both involved in the drafting as well as having real substantive input from various groups and parties will be very important to make this possible.”
Steffen says one of the most valuable pieces in this package is time.
“What time provides is the opportunity for reflection, for investigation, for research, and for input.”
The bills, as described by the governor’s office:
LRB 6273
- Establishes statewide use of force standards for all law enforcement agencies that includes that the primary duty of law enforcement is to preserve the life of all individuals; that deadly force is to be used only as the last resort; that officers should use skills and tactics that minimize the likelihood that force will become necessary; that, if officers must use physical force, it should be the least amount of force necessary to safely address the threat; and that law enforcement officers must take reasonable action to stop or prevent any unreasonable use of force by their colleagues;
- Prohibits discipline of a law enforcement officer for reporting a violation of a law enforcement agency’s use of force policy; and
- Requires the Law Enforcement Standards Board (LESB) to develop a model use of force policy for law enforcement agencies.
LRB 6274
- Requires each law enforcement officer to annually complete at least eight hours of training on use of force options and de-escalation techniques.
LRB 6275
- Creates a $1,000,000 grant program, administered by the Department of Justice, to fund community organizations that are utilizing evidence-based outreach and violence interruption strategies to mediate conflicts, prevent retaliation and other potentially violent situations, and connect individuals to community supports.
LRB 6276
- Requires law enforcement agencies to develop policies prohibiting the use of chokeholds.
LRB 6277
- Requires each law enforcement agency to not only prepare a policy regarding the use of force by its law enforcement officers, but to make it available publicly online.
LRB 6281
- Creates a civil cause of action for unnecessarily summoning a law enforcement officer with intent to infringe upon a right of the person under the Wisconsin Constitution or the U.S. Constitution; unlawfully discriminate against the person; cause the person to feel harassed, humiliated, or embarrassed; cause the person to be expelled from a place in which the person is lawfully located; damage the person’s reputation or standing within the community; or damage the person’s financial, economic, consumer, or business prospects or interests.
LRB 6283
- Requires that the Department of Justice publish an annual report on use of force incidents, including incidents where there was a shooting, where a firearm was discharged in the direction of a person (even if there was no injury), and where other serious bodily harm resulted from the incident; and
- Requires certain demographic information to be collected about each incident and reported annually by DOJ on its website.
LRB 6289
- Prohibits no-knock search warrants.
LRB 6292
- Makes certain changes to the responsibilities of the LESB, including requiring LESB to also regulate jail and juvenile detention officer training standards and regulate recruitment standards for the recruiting of new law enforcement, jail, and juvenile detention officers;
- Requires each law enforcement agency to maintain an employment file for each employee; and
- Requires each potential candidate for a position in an agency, jail, or facility that is or has been employed by a different agency, jail, or facility to authorize their previous employer to disclose his or her employment files to the hiring entity.
The announcement Friday had symbolic importance, coming on Juneteenth. Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 that all enslaved black people learned they had been freed from bondage.
