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Gov. Tom Wolf signs two bills for law enforcement reform

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Gov. Tom Wolf signed two law enforcement reform bills Tuesday aimed at tracking police misconduct in the hiring process and mandating mental health screenings for police officers.

“We must continually work to reform our law enforcement agencies,” Wolf said during a press conference. “This is good stuff, because while we have many, many law enforcement officers who are honorable, who are dedicated, genuinely good and caring people, the disproportionate number of negative outcomes for Black Pennsylvanians shows all those issues still exist.”

The bills come in response to a public outcry over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., who died under the knee of Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin May 25. Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than 8 minutes. He was charged with second-degree murder and other charges, and three other officers who stood by were charged with aiding and abetting the killing.

The first bill, HB 1841, requires a database to track police misconduct, and orders that information be used in hiring officers. That information will be accessible to all law enforcement agencies through the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission (MPOETC). The data will include “10 categories of transgressions,” said Rep. Christopher M. Rabb, D-Philadelphia. If an agency chooses to hire an officer despite listed misconduct, they will be required to submit a hiring report “to explain why they ignored flags,” which would be accessible to the public through the Right to Know Law, he said.

The second bill, HB 1910, provides mental health screenings for law enforcement officers for post-traumatic stress disorder at the request of an officer, supervisor or within 30 days of a lethal force incident. If an officer is determined to require treatment, they will undergo that treatment until a licensed mental health professional says in writing that the officer is able to return to duty. The bill also mandates training for magisterial district judges in the early detection of child abuse, and in proper techniques for officers interacting with a person with mental health issues, intellectual disabilities and autism.

Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. Christopher Paris said state police “fully support” both bills.

“Law enforcement officers are entrusted to provide safety to the residents and visitors of the commonwealth. Officers entrusted to serve their communities are held to a higher standard. The residents of the commonwealth expect the utmost qualified and honorable officers to serve in their respective communities,” he said.

Wolf also said more funding needs to be directed toward mental health, education and housing, without saying where they money should come from. When asked whether he supports the movement to “defund police,” Wolf said, “I’m not sure exactly what that means.”

“We need to be investing, make sure we have a society that is worth defending and that we have people that are good at defending and protecting that society,” he said.

Two other proposed reform bills are also being considered – one to ban chokeholds except in cases where deadly force is necessary, and another to compile a use-of-force database.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro said more universality is needed among Pennsylvania’s 1,200 law enforcement agencies.

“Some don’t even have computers. Some are the size of the city of Philadelphia,” he said.

State Sen. Sharif Street shared personal experiences about himself and his family, and what they were taught about interactions with police. He grew up in what he described as “the ghetto” of East Philadelphia. He was taught that in interactions with police, “If you do the wrong thing, you die.” His father, Street said, grew up on a dairy farm, and was taught the same lesson.

“We need to make time for this. People have been hurting for a long time,” he said.

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