During Monday’s City Council Work Session, our elected officials discussed the direction they were going to give our legislative delegation in Austin. To which, I suspect, our delegation will reply, “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”
Nonetheless, City Council feels obligated to let their often misguided voice be heard.
The El Paso Police Department, in turn, felt like they needed to tell City Council what was important to them. That slide above shows what pending possible legislation the local cops oppose.
The El Paso Police Department is opposed to legislation that prohibits neck restraints except when deadly force might be required.
The El Paso Police Department is opposed to legislation that removes qualified immunity. Qualified immunity is the controversial policy that exempts cops from civil lawsuits if they break the law or violate your rights while performing their duties.
The El Paso Police Department is opposed to legislation that calls for the revision of asset forfeiture laws, which are often used to seize large amounts of cash from people, even if those people are never charged with a crime.
The El Paso Police Department is opposed to legislation that prohibits no-knock warrants, like the ones that led to the shooting of Breonna Taylor, and two other people in Houston in 2019.
The El Paso Police Department is opposed to legislation that calls for cite and release mandates, like the City of El Paso currently uses for low level marijuana busts.
The El Paso Police Department is opposed to these laws that are collectively labeled Police Justice Reform Bills. The El Paso Police Department is against police justice reform.
The El Paso Police Department is, however, in favor of re-hiring cops who murder handcuffed prisoners in the sallyport of the El Paso County Jail. The El Paso Police Department also condones the execution of citizens in their own homes if the police decide they want to visit.
Not surprising, is it? Remember who the Chiefie is. No wonder cops get a bad rep.
I just submitted my comments on HB88.
https://comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c420
I support this bill. Our group the Texas Republican Liberty Caucus has made this issue a priority because we feel that these reforms are crucial to restoring faith in our Texas Law Enforcement institutions. We desire the people of Texas to view them as public servants and the institutions they serve in to be held up as morally righteous ones. The judicial practice of giving “qualified immunity” to law enforcement in cases where any other person doing the same act would be charged and convicted for their crime is a gross double standard that offends the concepts of justice and “to serve and protect.:” This bill works to powerfully helps to realign those concepts with Texas Law Enforcement.
For me, color has nothing to do with it. We are all human, we all have rights which we have empowered our government to secure for us these rights. That being the job we delegate to our police, they cannot adequately accomplish this if they held to a double standard when they violate our rights.
Finally, am I ever to serve on a jury, I want you to know I’m committed to considering the evidence. If an officer took action because the person they take action against is threatening their life, or the lives of others I hope to have the opportunity to have that officer’s back. The standard of doing away with qualified immunity is not to make illegal officers doing the tough job we hire them to do, but only to hold those few accountable when they cross a line.
We need the state legislature to set this standard, please vote this bill out of committee, I support HB88.
“… cite and release mandates, like the City of El Paso currently uses for low level marijuana busts.”
Isn’t that what ICE is going back to under Biden for illegal crossing of our border, i.e., reinstating the former Obama policy?
Look who is leading the police department for the city. Is there really any question as to why they don’t want the changes.
JerryK….You should go to the Fox Noise website. I think your values are better aligned there, or do you pine for the “good ol’ days” under El Cheeto Drumpf?
OH PLUUUEEEEZE.