The police reform bill was approved by the state Senate and House of Representatives, but with mixed results among South Shore legislators.
On Tuesday, the bill was approved, 28-12, in the state Senate and 92-67 in the House, and now heads to Governor Charlie Baker who can either sign it into law or veto it.
Republican State Rep. Dave DeCoste, who represents Rockland, Norwell, and Hanover, voted against the bill.
He says there was little time to review it after it came out of committee on Monday, and that there was no input from local police chiefs.
“They were never asked about it,” said DeCoste. “The Sheriff was never asked, the District Attorneys were never asked. This was poorly structured and I think it is heartening to see the number of people who voted against it.”
He’s hoping Governor Baker will veto the bill.
“We can start over in the new year, beginning with the subject matter experts who could craft something and address the problems they all agree on,” said DeCoste. “But not to the extent that it hurts the profession, which is what this bill does.”
The bill includes the creation of an independent peace officer standards and training commission [POST] composed of five civilians, three members of law enforcement, and a retired judge. The commission would standardize certification, training, and would investigate misconduct. The bill would also ban the use of chokeholds.
Calls for reform started after nationwide protests in May, after George Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody.
The state House and Senate passed police reform bills in July. In the months since then, a conference committee met to work out a compromise bill.
DeCoste was concerned with the format of the POST commission.
“You’ll have individuals who have never spent a day as a police officer, making rules for police officers – and that’s a bad thing,” said DeCoste. “If you look, for instance, at equivalent boards of plumbers, electricians – they have plumbers and electricians. They have subject matter experts on any given board.”
Democratic Senator John Keenan voted in support of the bill. He represents Braintree, Quincy, Abington, Rockland, and parts of Holbrook.
Keenan, like DeCoste, expressed frustration in having less than 24 hours to review the bill, but thinks this is a good step forward with centralized oversight and training.
“This was a step towards racial justice, but I think it was also and important step that should have been taken, regardless of what happened in Minneapolis,” said Keenan. “It’s something that should have occurred anyway. While that was the impetus, I think it was overdue. Now, depending on the Governor’s action, it will move forward and we’ll then turn our attention to education, transportation, housing, and our court systems.”
Keenan feels the POST commission is similar in structure to what is already in place in 46 other states.
“What it’s designed to do, is to work towards standardized hiring procedures, standardized training procedures for new recruits, and standardized in-service,” said Keenan. “It will provide for certification of police officers, much like what is done in many other professions. We think that this is a good way to improve the training that is provided to officers and making sure there is accountability.”
Governor Baker has not indicated if he would sign or veto the bill.