Democratic and Republican lawmakers have released a detailed draft of police accountability legislation that they hope to vote on in a special session late this month. The bill is expected to undergo changes before its final adoption but as written would significantly change the way police use-of-force cases are investigated and make changes to police training and procedures.
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The big story
Bipartisan police accountability bill released: The Democratic and Republican leaders of the legislature’s judiciary committee released a draft police accountability bill Thursday that would create a new inspector general to investigate police use-of-force cases, among other reforms. The 65-page draft would also require all police officers to have periodic mental health screenings, mandate the use of body cameras, require officers to intervene if they see a fellow officer using excessive force and limit the ability of departments to acquire excess military equipment through federal programs. Republicans who spoke about the bill at a Friday news conference said they had concerns with some sections but supported moving the legislation forward for a public hearing. A vote is expected to take place during a special session the week of July 20. Sen. Gary Winfield, a New Haven Democrat and judiciary committee co-chair, said some had expressed doubts about bipartisan support for the reforms but “when you read this, at [65] pages and all these new sections, I think people realize they were really trying to do a real bill, and it’s a lot of important stuff.” The legislation would also ban chokeholds in all instances except when deadly force is justified.
Five things you may have missed
Lamont pauses Phase 3 of Connecticut’s reopening: The next phase of Connecticut’s reopening won’t proceed as planned, not because the state hasn’t done a good enough job containing the coronavirus but due to widespread outbreaks elsewhere. That means bars will remain closed and gatherings will remain limited to 25 inside and 100 outdoors. “Every governor in the country that opened up their bars a month ago regretted it,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. The Democratic governor said he was erring on the side of caution even as Connecticut’s infection rate remains low and the state leads the country in several key coronavirus metrics. The third phase of reopenings had been scheduled for July 20 and would have also allowed restaurants, gyms and other businesses to operate at greater capacity. The delay has not however changed officials plans to move forward with a full reopening of schools in the fall. “I would not tie those two together,” Lamont said.
Troopers accuse Lamont of playing politics with police reform: The union representing Connecticut’s state troopers is accusing Lamont of seizing on police reform for his own political gain. In a recent letter to Lamont, the union’s executive director said troopers were disappointed and confused by a recent executive order targeting the state police. “What is confusing is you prohibit the use of chokeholds, but fails (sic) to acknowledge that the State Police has prohibited chokeholds for more than 30 years. This leads us to believe you are trying to politicize the issue … to your own political benefit.” Lamont said he had since spoken with the union executive director about the letter. “The state police are leading by example,” Lamont said. “That’s what they’ve always done. When it came to chokeholds, they never instructed in chokeholds. We just reinforced that. … I have nothing but respect for the state police.”
Minority lawmakers release racial justice agenda: Members of the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus Tuesday called for a broad legislative agenda for the upcoming special session that goes far beyond police accountability. The lawmakers said they are seeking to seize momentum spurred by the death of George Floyd to address six areas: voting rights, police accountability, economic justice, housing equity, education equity and environmental justice. The caucus said it was seeking to “uproot some of the many systems of inequity that have actively worked against the interests and livelihoods of Black and Brown residents in our state for decades.” It remains to be seen how broad in scope the July special session will be. “I’m pretty cautious what you can do in a two- or three-day special session,” Lamont said. Addressing larger, systemic issues, he said, may have to wait until the fall or next year when public hearings can be held.
Poll workers sought for August, November elections: Anticipating the fact that the many older retirees who typically work at the polls on Election Day may opt to stay home due to fears of the coronavirus, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill has put out a call seeking additional poll workers after other states have struggled with staffing their elections. The state has nearly 800 different polling places in 169 cities and towns, and they need a minimum of three workers at each site, officials said. Voters interested in working at the polls can visit myvote.ct.gov/volunteer for more information. Merrill said the state received millions in federal aid to address coronavirus-related election expenses. Some of that money was used to send out absentee ballot applications for the Aug. 11 primary to 1.2 million registered Republicans and Democrats. But polling places will be open for in-person voting, too. A Merrill spokesman said voters should expect to be required to wear masks.
New calls for diversity among Capitol statues: Lt. Gov Susan Bysiewicz joined Lamont Wednesday in calling for more diversity among the monuments and statutes that are part of the state Capitol complex. Bysiewicz’ and Lamont’s comments were prompted by discussion of a Capitol statue of Major John Mason, an early English settler and military leader who helped found the town of Windsor but is perhaps best known for a 1637 raid he led with rival Native Americans on a settlement of Pequot Indians that is commonly referred to as the Pequot Massacre. Windsor is seeking to move its Mason statue from a spot on a town green. While there are no immediate plans to remove a mason statue that is part of the Capitol facade, Bysiewicz noted there are empty spots where new statues could be placed to create a more diverse accounting of Connecticut’s past. Former Gov. Ella Grasso, who died of cancer in 1981, is the only woman represented.
Odds and ends
New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, signaling she may again run for governor in 2022, has created a new political action committee seeking to boost moderate Republicans. “I know if the Republican Party wants to survive in this state, they need to change the narrative — they need to start listening to people like me,” she said. Stewart ran for governor in 2018 but dropped out before the GOP convention to run for lieutenant governor instead. She lost a three-way primary in that race. … Attorney General William Tong said Wednesday he intends to sue the Trump administration over a policy barring international students from remaining in the U.S. if their colleges shift classes entirely online. Most Connecticut colleges are planning a hybrid of online and in-person learning, but universities here noted they may have to shift to online-only instruction if the coronavirus pandemic worsens. Tong called the policy “cruel and pointless.” Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have already filed a lawsuit challenging it. … Former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst has left the town he led for eight years from 2009-2017, decamping to eastern Connecticut, where he said his law practice and real estate development have taken him. “I’ve always believed that life takes you where you need to go,” Herbst said in a video posted to his Facebook page, while acknowledging it was a tough decision to leave his hometown. Herbst spent plenty of time in eastern Connecticut in 2018 as he campaigned for the GOP nomination for governor. He ultimately placed fourth in a five-way primary. … Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex, was among the Connecticut business owners to benefit from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, according to recently released records regarding the loan program. Needleman’s Tower Laboratories, a manufacturer of effervescent tablets, received a loan of between $2 million and $5 million. The company did not report how many jobs the money helped to preserve. Needleman spent more than $500,000 on his 2018 campaign to flip a seat previously held by a Republican. He has declined to draw a legislative salary. … U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal Thursday called on other athletic conferences to follow the Ivy League’s lead and cancel sports for the fall semester due to the risk of athletes contracting COVID-19. Blumenthal, who serves on the Senate Commerce Committee that has held hearings with NCAA officials about their plans, told The Courant that “no matter how much a school is a football powerhouse, no matter how big the revenues involved, athletes should be put first.” He expressed concern about schools that are requiring students to sign liability waivers to participate in athletics.
Russell Blair can be reached at rblair@courant.com.
