Janai Nelson talks about qualified immunity (QI) on MSNBC. She is Associate Director-Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Nelson recently sat down with Andrea Mitchell to discuss police reform measures and why ending qualified immunity is a must. The NAACP attorney mentions that she supports the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
In the interview, Nelson shares her thoughts on law enforcement. She tells Mitchell that police violence is an ongoing issue. And, Nelson notes, police violence especially impacts communities of color. Nelson says that one of the biggest concerns with the state of policing is the lack of accountability.
This lack of accountability is due to qualified immunity.
Per MSNBC, qualified immunity is a legal practice that provides officers with liability protections. Because of these protections, bad cops can get away with using excessive force. Thus, as Nelson says, QI “has been the most significant barrier to accountability” that victims of police misconduct face. That’s why abolishing the doctrine is so important for police reform.
Watch Janai Nelson talk about QI on MSNBC here.