As your constituent, I’m writing to ask you strengthen police accountability in the omnibus bill. Please maintain its provisions limiting qualified immunity, truly prohibit the most violent police tactics, and do not allow renewed police use of face surveillance without first putting regulations in place.
Massachusetts is not immune to systemic racism in policing. It’s long been clear that Black people in the Commonwealth are over-policed and under-served. Meanwhile, police are rarely held accountable for corruption or serious misconduct. This omnibus bill presents a significant opportunity for racial justice, and we should seize it.
First, please ensure that the final bill retains strong limits on qualified immunity, enabling people whose rights have been violated to secure redress in court. Banning violent police tactics is meaningless if there is no way for people to hold the police accountable when they break the rules. Victims of police brutality deserve justice. Please OPPOSE amendments 6, 74, 85, 109, 122, 137, and 145.
Second, please strengthen the bill’s restrictions on the most violent police tactics like chokeholds, tear gas, and no-knock warrants. The provisions in the bill purport to set limits on these dangerous techniques, but would allow them to continue unfettered in too many cases. The bill should be fixed so they can’t be used at all. Please SUPPORT amendments 58, 65, 67, and 119 (Welch, Rausch, Eldridge, and Hinds respectively).
Finally, please ensure that the moratorium on face surveillance doesn’t automatically sunset in December 2021. The dangers of face surveillance and systemic racism in policing will not evaporate in mere months. The moratorium on the use of this technology should not be lifted until the legislature enacts meaningful regulation to guard against racial bias, invasions of privacy, and violations of due process. Please SUPPORT amendment 64 (Creem).
Please work to include the above provisions in the final version of this bill.
