Former cop Diane Goldstein speaks out against qualified immunity (QI) in her recent think-piece for The Crime Report. In the article, Goldstein dispels some of the common misconceptions about ending the controversial doctrine.
“My law enforcement colleagues still in uniform have no need to fear losing qualified immunity,” Goldstein reassures. “Without it, we are still protected by the Fourth Amendment, which protects people against ‘unreasonable searches and seizures.’”
Goldstein is a 21-year police veteran and executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP). LEAP is a nonprofit of criminal justice professionals who support public safety policies. (The organization is also a coalition partner of the Campaign to End Qualified Immunity.) As Goldstein mentions, LEAP sent an open letter to Congress in March urging policymakers to abolish qualified immunity.
Goldstein also points out that better policing can only come about with greater accountability.
“Communities fear and distrust police not because we make mistakes, but because we are rarely held legally accountable for them,” Goldstein writes.“I am confident, however, that ending qualified immunity would actually make police work easier by strengthening our relationships in communities who see us as the enemy,” she concludes.
Read the entire piece by a former cop on QI here.
Read LEAP’s open letter to Congress calling for an end to QI here.