After a year defined by calls for change in policing, will the Legislature take action? – The Topeka Capital-Journal

As cries of "no justice, no peace" and "Black lives matter" once again rang out in streets across the country this summer, policymakers were faced with the most intense calls yet to increase racial equity in policing.

Kansas was not immune to those discussions in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis, Minn., police. Protests followed in Topeka, Wichita and scores of other communities, as residents again sought changesin their backyards and across the state.

Whether state legislators will consider advancing aggressive reforms favored by those activists, however, remains unclear. And some changes, like alterations to how police departments are funded, can only be pursued at the local level.

But there are things that could be done statewide if lawmakers so choose.

A panel formed by Gov. Laura Kelly in the wake of Floyd's death published recommendations late last year for changes that could be taken, both by state agencies and by legislators.

Some of those reforms, such as a ban on no-knock warrants, might be a bridge too far for the Republican-controlled Legislature. Others may be workable but could get lost in a hectic session that is at perpetual risk of being affected by COVID-19.

But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle appear open to a discussion on the issues.

"I just want to ensure that we hold every aspect of society to a standard of equity and civility," said Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, Kan. "There should be an opportunity to employ better policing and those tactics that are less likely to result in harm."

Perhaps the most significant of the recommendations from Kelly'sCommission on Racial Equity and Justice was curbing the use of no-knock warrants, which are warrants issued that do not need to be served with any sort of warning for residents inside.

Many local governments barthe use of no-knock raids already. Topeka Police Department, for instance, has not used no-knock warrants for "many years," according to Chief Bill Cochran and Topeka City Council passed a measure putting that ban into city law over the summer.

But the practice has gained renewed scrutiny after Louisville resident Breonna Taylor was killed by police executing a no-knock warrant in March. Scores of municipalities began considering an end to the practice, although many law enforcement agencies defend it as necessary in cases involving potentially dangerous individuals.

Activists counter that they can be used with deadly force against people of color, such as in Taylor's death. Haley said he planned to formally introduce legislation to ban the practice in the coming weeks.

"We need to re-evaluate what is legal and underscore what is illegal before any police officer puts on a uniform and wears a badge," Haley said.

Rep. Stephen Owens, R-Hesston, a member of the Kansas Criminal Justice Reform Commission, said he was surprised to learnthe discretion available to law enforcement in determining if a no-knock warrant was necessary.

He said he was hesitant to remove a tool from the toolbox of law enforcement but was open to revisiting the practice more broadly.

"Adding some oversight? I think there is room for that conversation," he said.

Other states have begun looking at ways to better share personnel records forofficers, reducing the odds that someone with a record of using force or other infractions can slip through the cracks and gain employment in another agency.

This is less of an issue in Kansas than in other states. A 2019 law requires that prospective officers applying for a job must sign a waiver allowing records from their prior employment to be shared between agencies.

But the Commission on RacialEquity and Justice's recommendations encourage barring fired officers from being re-hired elsewhere. The proposals also suggest requiring review of those personnel files, as well as making the process easier and more transparent.

Currently, theKansas Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training investigates officer misconduct, which generally involves cases of officers themselves breaking the law for everything from drug dealing to arson.

The number of cases investigated by CPOST has increased in recent years thanks to funding increases but still is a small minority of all law enforcement personnel in the state. Their reports are available to hiring agencies who seek them out.

But Rep. J. Russell Jennings, R-Lakin, said there could be some merit to the idea of expanding that database to include reports from individual agencies, whether they are state or local, to give hiring personnel a fuller idea of a prospective employee's background.

"I think that is a fair conversation to have," said Jennings, who chairs the House Corrections Committee.

Owens agreed, noting that it could be a tool for giving police chiefs and sheriffs the ability to make the right hiring decisions.

"There is room to look at making sure that our chiefs and our sheriffs have the information they need and access to it to make sure they are making good hiring decisions," he said.

Another practice that gained scrutiny over the summer was the use of chokeholds and neck restraints by law enforcement, even by law enforcement agencies that had supposedly banned them as being too dangerous.

Some activists pushed more departments to ban neck restraints, citing them as low-hanging fruit that could prompt immediate change.

Others pushed for larger-scale reforms, pointing out thatFloyd's death occurred after an officer kneeled on his neck, despite the fact that the Minneapolis Police Department had banned the practice for many years.

Haley said he is still looking at introducing legislation banning chokeholds statewide. That would mean more departments would join law enforcement agencies in Topeka, Wichita and Hutchinson in either banning or sharply limiting the practice.

One area that could create a bipartisan consensus is expanding training for law enforcement agencies on racial bias and when to use deadly force. That could be supplemented by creating better standards for ongoing training curriculum.

Jennings noted that some of this does not even require legislation. The Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, he said, could unilaterally elect to change or heighten training standards on its own.

The Commission on Racial Equity and Justice also noted that CPOST, the entity which certifies officers, could also work with the Attorney General's Office to incorporate racial bias into the certification process.

But there are areas that would require legislative action. Officers could be required to completeKLETC training before being allowed to carry a firearm in the line of duty, and other professional development requirements could be expanded, as well.

Law enforcement agencies themselves have not weighed in on this change, although Owens said he believes they would be open to more training in an effort to ensure they can carry out their duties in as effective a manner as possible.

"No matter what profession you are in, but especially law enforcement, you want to be better at your jobs, we want to be better at what we are doing," he said. "More training, more opportunity to learn ... will certainly be very beneficial and I don't think there is opposition to doing that from within law enforcement."

That could focus on interacting with an individual in a mental health crisis.

"How do you engage in de-escalation in situations with any number of folks?" Jennings said. "Whether that is race issues, is it potentially a mental health issue. How do you deal with someone experiencing some sort of a psychotic breakdown ... the response to people in crisis is not a cookie-cutter kind of thing. And I think our officers need to be well-trained in a variety of methodologies for effective interventions and de-escalations short of having to get to a point of use-of-force."

Some have criticized more training as a Band-Aid thatdoes not substantively change the broader law enforcement system. Haley said he understands that point but still feels it is a discussion worth having.

"I certainly want to see training as a part of it and the expectation that the training is heavy on response or procedure, how to respond to unfolding events in the pursuit, questioning and apprehension of any individual," he said.

The Commission onRacial Equity and Justice report included a host of other recommendations, ranging from limiting qualified immunity, allowing officers to be subject to civil lawsuitsfor their actions,to developing better ways of responding to calls involving an individual experiencing a mental health crisis.

But whether any of these will actually gain traction in the Legislature remains unclear.

In a session where members are keenly aware that a rash of COVID-19 cases could send them home at any moment, legislators acknowledge worthy issues might not get the attention they deserve.

"If there is some sense of urgency, we absolutely will try to get to them," Jennings said. "But it is like an alternate universe in here right now."

He noted that there are a host of recommendations from the Joint Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight thatare broadly agreed to but did not advance in 2020 due to the pandemic. Moving those first will be a priority, he said.

But Owens said there was still room for the issue to come to the forefront.

"The conversations are there," he said. "It certainly isn't going to be at the bottom of the barrel."

Visit link:

After a year defined by calls for change in policing, will the Legislature take action? - The Topeka Capital-Journal