Deadly Use of Force Incidents Need Impartial Investigations

In the wake of a series of disturbing reports on deadly use of force incidents in Connecticut, the state needs impartial investigators to root out when law enforcement broke the law.

David McGuire, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut said, “We entrust police officers with unmatched authority and responsibility. In rare instances and in the course of this duty, officers may use physical force that may result in death. I think we all agree that transparency and accountability in the instance of any use of deadly force is essential to maintain trust and public safety in our communities.”

Of the at least 19 incidents in which people died after police used physical force on them, most of the investigations were drawn out over extended periods of time and none of the officers involved in those incidents were convicted of a crime.

A pair of bills currently before lawmakers mandates the appointment of a special assistant state’s attorney or a prosecutor from a judicial district other than the one where the deadly incident occurred.

The purpose of this proposal is to foster impartiality and objectivity in the investigation into whether the deadly force was justified. This bill would help investigating authorities avoid conflicts of interest or other barriers that might come up due to personal relationships or professional history among officers.

One of the bills, also requires body cams, which the ACLU of Connecticut supports as long as there are state-wide standards that would govern when these cameras must be turned on and off, how long to keep the video footage and how to deal with the release of such footage under freedom of information laws. These conditions must be implemented before police start using body cameras.