Today’s Solutions: February 19, 2025

After months of protests against racism and police brutality, it would be a great waste if all that effort doesn’t translate into real change. Fortunately, in some states that change is already happening.

This past week, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed sweeping police accountability legislation into law. The law institutes a new statewide watchdog for police misconduct, bans “chokeholds” in most instances and puts limits on the ability of police departments to withhold officers’ disciplinary records. It also allows individual officers to be held financially liable in civil suits over their actions. The law requires all departments statewide to equip officers with body-worn cameras and places limits on the military equipment Connecticut police departments can acquire or use.

The ACLU of Connecticut tweeted its support for the bill Wednesday evening. “Ending police violence will not be solved by any one bill, but the bill passed out of the legislature today is a start,” Melvin Medina, the ACLU of Connecticut’s public policy and advocacy director, said in a statement. The law is the latest state-level effort to reform American policing since the death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police in May.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill in June that mandates police officers wear body cameras and banned chokeholds.

Meanwhile Gov. Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania signed a pair of bills earlier this month that require officers seeking new positions to reveal previous employment records and mandate mental health evaluations of officers and training in use of force.

One of the most heavily debated sections of the new Connecticut law is a blow to “qualified immunity,” the idea that government officials are protected from civil suits while performing the functions of their job. Under the law signed Friday, Connecticut police officers can be subject to civil suit and can only claim immunity if the officer “had an objectively good faith belief that such officer’s conduct did not violate the law.”

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

England’s largest bird sanctuary expands as a haven for wildlife and rewilding

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a major victory for conservation and rewilding, RSPB Geltsdale in the north Pennines has grown by a ...

Read More

Drinking more green tea each day may help protect against dementia

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM If you need another reason to reach for that soothing cup of green tea, here it is: a ...

Read More

Washing your hands often? Here’s how to keep your skin healthy

With the COVID-19 outbreak, experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are encouraging everyone to ...

Read More

Pakistan’s Billion Tree project is bringing the bees and honey back

In 2018, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the Billion Tree project, a lofty country-wide effort to plant 10 billion trees over a 5-year ...

Read More