A new state task force in Connecticut is looking at changes to law and police policy exactly two weeks after George Floyd died at the hands of a Minnesota police officer.

Across Connecticut, protesters are demanding tougher police rules.

The Connecticut Police Transparency and Accountability Task Force outlined some bold and controversial ideas during a meeting Monday.

"Police officers should not be tasked with pulling over citizens because their headlight is out, because their tire pressure is too low," says Shafiq Abdussabur, a former New Haven police sergeant.

Sgt. John Szewczyk, the former Hartford Police Union president, says that there needs to be independent agencies to investigate police officers instead of Internal Affairs.

 

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Police chiefs say it's time to stop asking officers to be social workers.

"We're put into situations where we really aren't equipped," says Milford Police Chief Keith Mello. "Handling homeless and handling mental health; and we keep putting classes out there, but let's really get serious."

Top state lawmakers plan to roll out major police reform legislation in a few weeks.

"Many states now are pairing officers with mental health professionals on certain calls," says Norwalk Police Chief Tom Kulhwaik. "It's an expensive proposition obviously, but that's something that I think would go a long way to give the officers more tools to deal with those situations."

A racial bias trainer says he ran into the "Blue Wall" of resistance with police officers.

"It was not well-received," says Ken Barone. "A lot of the feedback I got from law enforcement at the end of most sessions was, 'Well, you're not one of us; you're not a cop.'"

The task force will meet again in two weeks, but state lawmakers say they're not waiting for recommendations to act.