The heightened scrutiny of police after the murder of George Floyd prompted new laws around the country designed to increase accountability and, in some cases, to bolster protections for police.
Governors approved nearly 300 police reform bills after Floyd’s May 2020 killing in Minneapolis, according to an analysis of data from the National Conference of State Legislatures by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland. The analysis focused on legislation passed since June 2020 that affects police oversight, training, use of force policies and mental health diversions, including crisis intervention and alternatives to arrests.
Only five states passed no significant changes to policing during that period.
North Carolina offers an example of mixed measures. The legislature passed a broad law that lets authorities charge civilians with a felony if their conduct allegedly interferes with an officer’s duty — but also created a public database of officers who were fired or suspended for misconduct. Alabama, Connecticut and another 20 states also passed a combination of reforms. More than a dozen states passed laws directed only at increasing accountability, while five states only passed additional police protections.
“It’s the yin and yang of legislative compromise,” said Ram Subramanian, managing director of the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. “It doesn’t entirely surprise me that there’s something for this side and something for that side, and that was the way it got passed.”
California and Virginia approved more than two dozen police bills, while Utah, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona each passed more than 10 reform laws. Many touch on themes that were present when Floyd was killed, including the use of body cameras and requirements that police report incidents of excessive force by their colleagues. New Mexico removed qualified immunity in state courts for officers who violate a person’s civil rights, making it one of the few states in the nation to pass such reform. Washington, Virginia and New York passed laws that would require officers to intervene if they see a colleague using excessive force.
A quarter of the country passed new laws limiting the use of chokeholds, and 26 states passed laws regarding use of force — often creating more stringent restrictions on the force officers can apply during civilian interactions. Seventeen states also created mental health-related programs designed to provide alternatives to arrests or to increase mental health support for officers.
The analysis showed more than a dozen states, including Louisiana and Illinois, did not pass any new laws related to use of force, a key element in many high-profile police killings.
Researcher Angela Headley said while that result is not surprising, it is disheartening.
“I think the state of policing is in need of policy reforms,” said Headley, who teaches public policy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. “But it’s not surprising, often because of the politics of it and the narratives that usually go into policymaking.’’
While some like Headley champion greater limitations and oversight of police, pro-police groups see the push for more accountability by individual officers as a hindrance.
“We’re at an existential crisis point [when it comes to] the recruiting and retention of police officers because of the drumbeat of criticism … that’s been forthcoming over the last few years,” said Jim Pasco, executive director at the National Fraternal Order of Police.
Pasco said police recruitment and retention is suffering because officers feel like they are not being protected. He said police officers are retiring earlier in their careers and in higher numbers than he’s seen previously.
News accounts found record levels of retirements in Georgia, a trend that was also seen nationwide.
Georgia gave police the right to sue civilians for damages if they file a false complaint or infringe on the officers’ civil rights. Iowa passed a law that justifies deadly force or a chokehold when the basis of a warrant is found to be invalid after the fact. And Montana lawmakers removed penalties for on-duty officers who choose not to help public health officials when asked.
The Texas Legislature voted to create peer support groups to give officers internal mental health resources. The law also shields officers’ speech in these support groups from being used against them in disciplinary matters — even if they reveal misconduct or wrongdoing.
Pasco said peer support groups are long overdue.
“Police officers are repeatedly subjected to that trauma, which is another element of the work that sometimes gets overlooked,” he said.
Subramanian of the Brennan Center cautioned that state changes in policing laws may not always be reflected in what happens on the ground.
“A state legislature can pass a law that sheriffs or local agencies may decide to ignore,” Subramanian said. “So often with policing reform, the proof is in the pudding. The devil is in the details. You have to see how this all plays out.”
Headley said even though reform is promising, implementation will really make the difference.
“Culture eats policy for lunch,” Headley said. “We have to think about the way in which policies are implemented once they hit municipalities, once they hit the government agency, once they hit the police department and what happens inside the black box that allows for a policy to be effective or not effective.”