Standards and Training Council meets on new police reform bill
State lawmakers passed sweeping police reforms – now it’s up to the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council to implement them in just a matter of months.
News 12 Staff
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Aug 7, 2020, 7:05 PM
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Updated 1,351 days ago
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1,335ds agoState lawmakers passed sweeping police reforms – now it’s up to the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council to implement them in just a matter of months.
The new law is 71 pages, but police chiefs say it's short on details about exactly when officers can use deadly force. Officers are now required to exhaust all other “reasonable alternatives” first.
The law asks these questions:
- Did the suspect have a deadly weapon?
- Or appear to have one?
- Did the officer try to de-escalate the situation?
- Or did they increase the risk of deadly force?
The new rules also scrutinize where a police officer is standing during a dangerous encounter.
"You hear about that 'officer-created jeopardy' – did the officer position himself in such a manner as to create the need to use deadly physical force?” say Duane Lovello, the director of security for Yale University.
There are also questions about the new "duty to report" law, which requires officer to report fellow officers for illegalities. But which crimes are they required to report?
"I think we need to look at what we need to make mandatory and what we should leave discretionary," says Milford Chief Keith Mello.
The Training Council voted Friday to require all police academy cadets to undergo a three-day social justice seminar.
