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, TIME examines the impact of George Floyd protests; Minneapolis unveils a promising new public safety plan; California and Washington uphold the rights of incarcerated individuals; and more!
FEATURED STORY
TIME: The Overlooked, Enduring Legacy of the George Floyd Protests
“A closer look at the post-2020 reform landscape…reveals that the calls for change after the murder of George Floyd helped accelerate the emergence of alternative first response: a field of practice with the potential to profoundly shift the scope of policing nationwide.”
Read more here.
NEW YORK
For years, Stephen Giaco ran a private-security company while also serving as an NYPD detective. Yet Giaco never disclosed his side hustle, and the NYPD didn’t seem to care. “Off-duty employment is ripe for abuse because if an officer feels they lack supervision, they’ll do what other humans do, which is try to skate,” warned a former NYPD official.
Read more here.
In the first three months of 2023, police vehicle pursuits in New York City jumped nearly 600 percent from the same time period last year, according to a recent analysis. Some of these pursuits have led to civilian deaths.
Read more here.
MARYLAND
A growing number of police departments are using high-tech drones for surveillance. But is this practice constitutional? When it comes to the Baltimore Police’s unregulated use of drones, a federal court says no: “Allowing the police to wield this power unchecked is anathema to the values enshrined in our Fourth Amendment,” stated the Fourth Circuit.
Read more here.
ILLINOIS
George Floyd’s death has “shone a spotlight on police departments everywhere.” One such department is in Urbana, Illinois, a town with a significant Black population that has demonstrated a concerning pattern of racist policing.
Read more here.
ADDITIONAL NEWS
MPR News: Minneapolis Unveils ‘Audacious’ Community Safety Plan
“The 142-page report…calls for the city to work ‘upstream’ on services to prevent social challenges from turning into crime and disorder, and ‘downstream,’ to help heal trauma and build resilience in communities. The study also calls for the city to build upon alternative policing programs it’s already launched, including its Behavioral Crisis Response program, which provides unarmed mental health professionals, rather than armed law enforcement, in some incidents.”
Read more here.
Business Insider: The Notoriously ‘Inhumane’ Conditions in a Los Angeles Jail—Where Inmates Were Chained to Benches for Days—May Improve Due to a ‘Landmark’ Legal Settlement
“The agreement seeks to address what attorneys from the ACLU have called ‘inhumane’ conditions at the Inmate Reception Center. The case addresses issues of overcrowding and mental health treatment, a precedent that could be used in future prison reform and decarceration efforts around the country, experts with the ACLU told Insider.”
Read more here.
King 5: Washington State Ordered to Pay Over $100M in Fines for Not Providing Services to Mentally Ill People in Jails
“In her order released late Friday, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman said the Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) has been violating the constitutional rights of these people since 2015 due to a ‘lack of foresight, creativity, planning and timely response to a crisis of its own making.’”
Read more here.
Washington City Paper: D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee Was Soft on Discipline, Civilian Oversight Office Says
“OPC, the independent civilian oversight agency for police officers in D.C., determined that each of these officers had violated Metropolitan Police Department policies….But none of these officers faced any meaningful consequences. In fact, of the 41 sustained complaints for violations of the law or internal policies during Contee’s two-and-a-half year tenure as chief, only seven officers were issued suspensions, according to City Paper’s review of the cases.”
Read more here.
Cowboy State Daily: Five Years After Officer-Involved Shooting, Laramie Creates Police Advisory Board
“[Robbie] Ramirez’s death was the inspiration for the founding of the Albany County for Proper Policing organization. And while the shooting involved a county deputy, in the five years since there has been public scrutiny of both the Sheriff’s Office and LPD. ‘This review board is a step toward meaningful government transparency and accountability that saves lives and improves police & community relations,’ the group’s founder and State Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, said in a Wednesday post on Twitter.”
Read more here.
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