PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island lawmakers have approved two of the most high-profile and controversial bills of the year.
Legislation requiring the safe storage of firearms has now cleared its final legislative hurdle and is on its way to Gov. Dan McKee to be signed into law, after a final 30-to-6 Senate vote.
The Senate, in a 33-to-4 vote – and soon after, the House – also cast final votes on a long-sought reform of the law that governs the discipline of police for misconduct.
A last minute amendment required that the rewrite of the state's 1976-era Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights – aka LEOBOR – return to the House, which approved it on a final vote of 57 to 10.
Among the key features of the proposed new law hammered out by legislative negotiators and police unions:
- The freeing of Rhode Island's police chiefs to comment publicly on incidents of public interest, release video footage and suspend officers without pay for up to 14 days – and, if they are charged with a serious crime, indefinitely while their court cases play out.
- The expansion of the current police-dominated "LEOBOR" hearing panels from three to five members, including three current or retired police officers, a lawyer and a retired judge.
Senate President Ruggerio returns to the chamber
The action began – with the ailing Senate President Dominick Ruggerio back in the chamber for the first time since April 25 – with the introduction of a last-minute amendment to the LEOBOR reform bill he sponsored.
The amendment – which won unanimous Senate approval – addresses concerns raised by media and civil-rights advocates about the leeway it would give police chiefs to withhold police body-cam footage of some incidents. That amendment deletes the specific language that raised concerns.
But the Senate debate did not end there.
Citing how quickly disciplinary action was taken after the 2020 murder of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, Sen. Jonathan Acosta asked, "What difference have we made?"
Echoing arguments made repeatedly in recent days by the Black Lives Matter RI PAC, Acosta proposed an amendment to give police chiefs the power to more quickly terminate an officer who indefensibly uses "excessive" or "deadly" force or contributes to what is called a "custodial death."
Once a police chief has determined that an officer has used deadly or excessive force in violation of department regulations, "the chief or the highest ranking officer of the department may impose employment disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment."
Under Acosta's proposal, "the sole and exclusive remedy for appeals ... shall be [the] grievance and arbitration provisions of the accused law enforcement officer's collective bargaining agreement."
Sen. Dawn Euer, the Senate Judiciary Committee chair, said that would drive the decision-making back behind closed doors without any of the public accountability the legislation seeks to provide.
Other lawyers in the chamber echoed her many concerns about the suggested amendment, which failed on a 25-to-12 vote.
Sen. Linda Ujifusa said she ultimately voted no on the proposed law because of a provision that essentially says that in any case "where the law enforcement officer is acquitted of the felony charge or where the felony charge has been dismissed in its entirety, the law enforcement officer shall be entitled to be made whole."
"It is important that we not allow failure to be found criminally guilty to allow someone to get back their job and all their benefits. This is what the law says on its face. For that reason, I'll be voting no," she said.
Firearms safe-storage mandate headed for McKee's desk
The safe firearms-storage bill cleared the House last week on a 45-to-23 vote. It comes in the wake of several tragedies including the accidental shooting death of a Johnston teen by a friend showing off his uncle's unlocked gun.
With Senate approval on Thursday night, the bill now goes to Gov. Dan McKee's desk to be signed into law.
Lest there be any doubt where Democrat McKee stands, he began Thursday at an event where he signed a proclamation to mark Friday as "National Gun Violence Awareness Day" to honor those killed or injured by guns.
The proclamation reads, in part: "Support for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens goes hand in hand with keeping guns away from people who should not have them."
Going deeper into the divide on police body-cam footage
Advocacy groups warned about the potential loss of public access to police body-cam footage if LEOBOR reform passed as it emerged from the House.
Their concerns centered on the now removed provision that said a police chief is prohibited from releasing body-cam footage if the footage relates to a "minor" violation of the department's rules.
House Judiciary Chairman Robert Craven told colleagues this references suspensions of up to five days for what he described as ticky-tacky violations, such asdress-code violations or visible tattoos.
But as the media and other open-government advocacy groups read it, the section could have banned access to body-camera footage whenever a "minor" violation of department rules is involved, even if the footage otherwise would have been accessible under existing public-records law.
The groups cited examples, among them:
- An officer is allegedly disrespectful or uses inappropriate languagewith a member of the public during an encounter.
- A person alleges that police officers used excessive force against them during an arrest.
Those writing the letter of concern included: John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island; Scott Pickering, general manager of East Bay Media Group; Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition and Steven Brown, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island.
