As your constituent, I’m writing to ask you to make sure that the omnibus racial justice bill in the works includes the provisions in three critical pieces of legislation and is passed before the end of this legislative session.
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 problem has been generations in the making, and we are only just beginning to reckon with its full scope. However, there are some clear first steps that we should take on the long road to justice. To that end, I ask that you lend your full support to the following three bills and make sure they are included in any racial justice package.
First, An Act to Save Black Lives (HD5128/SD2968). This bill would re-write the rules on use of force and establish serious, enforceable consequences for violations. All too often, police officers turn routine interactions into deadly encounters. It’s time we established reasonable boundaries around acceptable police conduct so that officers aren’t empowered to engage in violence with impunity.
Second, An Act to Secure Civil Rights (H.3277). This bill would fix the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act to enable people whose rights have been violated to secure redress in court. The bill would also eliminate qualified immunity, which shields Massachusetts police from civil liability, even in cases where a civil rights violation is undisputed. This travesty has to end. Victims of police brutality deserve justice.
Finally, restrictions on face surveillance (H.1538/S.1385). Police use of this technology can have disastrous results—particularly for Black people. Just ask Robert Williams, a Black man in Detroit who was wrongfully arrested in front of his young daughters because of a mistaken face surveillance match. If we’re serious about addressing racial bias in policing, now is exactly the right moment to press pause on a technology that only adds fuel to that long-raging fire. That’s why, in June, the Boston City Council voted unanimously to ban the use of face surveillance by the municipal government, and why Springfield and other cities in the Commonwealth have done the same. But we need statewide legislation and permanent safeguards because we all deserve that protection.
Please work to pass all three of these crucial measures.
