Justin Amash (I-Mi) plans to introduce legislation this week to eliminate a legal doctrine that protects police officers from being sued for illegal and unconstitutional acts.
The proposed bill would allow civil lawsuits against police, a recourse that the Supreme Court has all but done away with.
The qualified immunity doctrine has largely shielded police and other government officials from having to pay financial settlements to victims or grieving families. The doctrine protects cops even when courts have determined that the officers violated a victim’s civil rights.
The bill has won support from Minnesota Rep Ilhan Omar, and joins other proposed legislation in Congress as responses to George Floyd’s killing.
Omar and Representative Ayanna Pressley have a bill condemning police brutality, racial profiling and the excessive use of force. Other bills would create a commission to study the social status of black men and boys, create a national registry of police misconduct and discontinue a program that makes military equipment available to local police departments.
See the story at Reuters.
To read more about the Qualified Immunity Doctrine, see here.