R.I. House passes police reform, but without ‘George Floyd’ provision

The revisions were heralded as a “major improvement” by the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, but did not go far enough for some members of the caucus representing legislators of color, who unsuccessfully sought during the floor debate to get a ‘George Floyd litmus test” added to the law. The amendment, which was ultimately tabled in a vote of 47 to 25 over questions of constitutionality, would have allowed police chiefs to fire officers who use deadly force without going through a lengthy hearing process that can last years.

The law, known as LEOBOR, provides officers with due process if they are accused of serious misconduct, currently giving them the right to a hearing by a panel of fellow officers for discipline longer than a two-day suspension.

It’s been widely criticized for the makeup of the three-member hearing panel, since the accused officer selects one of the members, the accusing police department selects another, and the third officer is selected by both parties.

Police chiefs have said the existing law makes it difficult to punish officers, and also prevents them from speaking publicly about high-profile police misconduct cases.

The amended legislation removes that gag order, and also changes the makeup of the panel to five members. Three of the members would be police officers randomly selected from a newly-created list and would receive special training before being put in the pool of candidates. The other two members would be a retired judge and an attorney, each selected by the chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

The bill also allows chiefs to suspend police officers for a longer amount of time: five days for minor infractions, and 14 days for more serious misconduct such as improper use of force, “felonious conduct” including domestic assault, and issues of honesty and integrity. Longer suspensions and terminations would still give officers the right to a LEOBOR hearing, which cannot take place until the criminal case is over, including the appeal, if the officer is charged.

“This moves LEOBOR to somewhere they never thought it would be,” said state Representative Ray Hull, a Providence police sergeant and the lead sponsor of the bill. “Nothing’s perfect, I’ll tell you that. But after living in police service for 30-some odd years, this is a big jump. A big jump to transparency.”

He highlighted the removal of the gag order, which he said was a “huge” change in police culture.

“This effectively opens it up to us to put the police chief on notice that we want to hear from you about your officers,” Hull said. “The chief can’t shut his mouth.”

The name of the statute would also be renamed the Law Enforcement Officers’ Due Process, Accountability and Transparency Act.

In a statement, Attorney General Peter F. Neronha acknowledged that while “there is undoubtedly work left to be done,” this legislation will “help law enforcement better serve their communities and hold accountable those who break the public’s trust.”

Those who argued the bill did not go far enough included state Representative Jose Batista, a Providence Democrat who introduced the “George Floyd” amendment.

If Floyd, who was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020, were killed in Rhode Island, Chauvin would not have been able to be fired immediately under this proposal, Batista said.

“You’d have to wait for a criminal trial to end,” Batista said. “If he gets acquitted, you’d have to give him back pay.” And only after the criminal case was over could the LEOBOR panel be impaneled to consider the termination.

The failed amendment would have allowed police chiefs to terminate officers who commit deadly force without waiting for the criminal case to be over. Officers would have still been able to dispute the decision using the grievance and arbitration provisions in the police union contract.

At a news conference before the vote, members of the Rhode Island Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian-American and Pacific Islander caucus said the bill did not go far enough.

“In New York, after Eric Garner was killed in 2014, it took the police department until 2019 to terminate that police officer,” said Senator Jonathon Acosta, one of the chairs of the caucus. “After George Floyd was killed, the Minneapolis police department terminated [Derek Chauvin] within 24 hours. In Rhode Island, we are in the New York scenario. The bill that we’re considering today on the House floor keeps us in the New York scenario. This caucus finds that unacceptable.”

Harrison Tuttle, the president of the Black Lives Matter Rhode Island PAC, slammed the “super majority Democrat” House for not approving the “George Floyd” amendment. In tabling the caucus’ proposal, the House “expressed, through their actions, that they do not value the lives of Rhode Island residents if it comes at the cost of ensuring that police in this state are protected under LEOBOR,” Tuttle said, adding that the political action committee would continue calling for a complete repeal of LEOBOR.

Representative Leonela Felix, the other chair of the caucus, was among those who voted against the bill on the House floor. The other no votes were Representatives Edith Ajello, Karen Alzate, Cherie Cruz, Joshua Giraldo, Arthur Handy, Brianna Henries, John Lombardi, David Morales, Brandon Potter, Jennifer Stewart and Teresa Tanzi.

The compromise that was finally struck last week between House and Senate leaders received support from both the R.I. Police Chiefs Association and the police unions.

“If you go ask any of the parties at the table, no one’s going to walk away and say they love this bill. No one,” House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, told the Globe after the vote. “Everybody had to give up something.”

“But people can say they can live with this bill, and that’s the only way you’re going to achieve progress,” Shekarchi added.

Hull said the legislation could be revised in the future to address concerns.

But, he noted: “It’s a hell of a start.”

Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado. Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.