Welcome to the weekly update from the Campaign to End Qualified Immunity! Here, we give you a wrap-up of the latest developments and notable news as we continue our state-focused fight to abolish the unjust rule.
This week, Randy Cox wins a historic settlement; a student-athlete speaks out for police accountability; Baltimore’s “tough-on-crime” policies fail to build public trust; and more!
FEATURED STORY
USA Today: Largest Settlement in US History Over Police Misconduct Reached: $45M in Randy Cox Case
Nearly a year ago, Randy Cox was left partially paralyzed as a result of police negligence. Last week, Cox settled his case for $45 million—the largest police misconduct settlement in US history. “What we’re trying to do is make it financially unsustainable for the police to continue to violate our constitutional rights and brutalize us unnecessarily and unjustifiably,” said Cox’s attorney, Ben Crump.
Read more here.
NEW YORK
In a recent op-ed, University of Buffalo football player Max Michel voiced his support for New York’s bill to end qualified immunity. “For justice to flourish, everyone must operate on an even playing field,” Michel noted. “But we can’t have justice as long as those in power aren’t held accountable for their actions.”
Read more here.
The NYPD has repeatedly argued that it doesn’t engage in racial profiling, but a trio of new reports disputes that claim. The most recent study, from the Police Reform Organizing Project, shows that of over 700 2022 arraignments analyzed, 91% were for people of color.
Read more here.
On May 11, the New York State prison agency set a directive blocking incarcerated individuals from publishing creative works. Following an exposé by the New York Focus, the agency’s commissioner has reversed the policy. “The Constitution does not give prison officials a choice whether to respect the fundamental rights of incarcerated New Yorkers,” said Antony Gemmell of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Read more here.
MARYLAND
Baltimore, which spends the most per capita on policing than any other major US city, keeps proposing “tough-on-crime” policies local authorities claim will strengthen public safety. New data reveals that this isn’t the case, due in part to the “effect that decades of police mistrust has [had] on Baltimore City.”
Read more here.
ILLINOIS
Looking to strengthen public safety, the city of Evanston has contracted with the Law Enforcement Action Partnership to develop a plan that would deploy de-escalation–trained, unarmed city employees instead of police officers to respond to certain calls, such as wellness checks.
Read more here.
In February 2022, a 15-year-old Waukegan boy was jailed on trumped-up murder charges. Yet the detectives who extracted a false confession from the minor—a violation of a state law barring such deceptive tactics—never faced accountability. “The Police Department can’t and shouldn’t be trusted by the public if the department itself does not undertake an inquiry into whether its officers, and possibly even its command chain, broke the law,” said Chicago’s former inspector general.
Read more here.
ADDITIONAL NEWS
Reason: They Were Abused by Cops but Can’t Sue
Due to qualified immunity, cops who abuse their authority have become nearly untouchable. UCLA law professor Joanna Schwartz discusses how the lack of police accountability “fails to offer justice” with Reason’s Billy Binion.
Watch here.
Times of San Diego: Accountability Is Key to Good Policing, So End Qualified Immunity
“I support the Ending Qualified Immunity Act for the simple reason that this bill will restore trust in law enforcement and finally ensure that those who were hurt by corrupt public officials will be heard in a court of law.”
Read more here.
Oklahoma Watch: Tulsa Police Defy Department Policy by Hiding Internal Investigation
“Tulsa police officers heckled a great-grandmother in the throes of a bipolar episode and then tackled her in October 2021. Public outrage over video of the incident prompted the department to launch an investigation into its officers nearly six months after the arrest. Now, the department is violating its own policy by keeping the results of that investigation secret.”
Read more here.
The New Republic: Did Tim Scott Intentionally Kill Police Reform So He Could Run for President?
“But shortly after Scott’s office received the bill, a copy was curiously leaked to the National Sheriffs’ Association.Then, [Ben] Terris writes, ‘With the Sheriffs’ Association as a shield, Scott rejected the offer…he accused Democrats of wanting to ‘defund the police,’ something that almost no one in Congress had been saying for months.’”
Read more here.
ABC News: Mississippi Civil Rights Lawyer Arrested Filming Traffic Stop, Attorney Says
“Jill Collen Jefferson is the president of JULIAN, the civil rights organization that filed a federal lawsuit last year against the Lexington Police Department on behalf of a group of city residents. Michael Carr, Jefferson’s attorney, told The Associated Press she was arrested late Saturday evening [by Lexington police] after she filmed officers after they pulled someone over.”
Read more here.
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