The Struggle to End Qualified Immunity for Police Officers

The Struggle to End Qualified Immunity for Police Officers

For many years, black people in America have been asking the same question, why aren’t police being charged for crimes they commit against people of color? The murder of George Floyd sparked outrage all throughout America putting pressure on legislators to come up with a reform bill to hold police officers accountable for their wrongdoings. Just recently, the U.S. House of Representatives just passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act on March 3. This bill would prohibit racial profiling, chokeholds, carotid holds, no-knock warrants, and very little was addressed about the way they plan on reforming qualified immunity. The U.S. Supreme Court hinted at reforming the doctrine of qualified immunity, but it is unlikely to happen any time soon. Through qualified immunity, government workers have been given the right to violate the constitution, and people’s civil rights without any consequence. A person with a gun and no consequences is a recipe for disaster and the American government is behind it.

The Supreme Court, during the post- Civil Rights Reconstruction era, decided to use qualified immunity in the case of Pierson v. Ray, protecting the police officers from being charged for violating the defendants’ civil rights. Qualified immunity has clarified that it was designed to protect police officers from lawsuits. In most cases of police shootings that happen in America, the officers always declare the victim had a gun or they felt threatened by the victim, but when the video comes out, it shows otherwise. Although the reform bill was passed, it will still have to pass through the Senate, in which the Democrats would have to win over 10 Republicans to overcome a filibuster. Law enforcement groups have argued that without qualified immunity, the fear of lawsuits will stop people from becoming police officers.

Karen Bass, a California congresswoman who authored the bill, said limiting qualified immunity and easing standards for the prosecution is the only measure to hold police accountable for their crimes. Congresswoman Bass also said the reason the bill is opposed is that it was built on racism and the people that are opposing it are promoting the fear of how the scary black people are going to attack you if you try to rein in the police. This is the same ideology that has been told to white people since slavery to justify slavery, and now it’s being used to get the police off murder charges. The vote in the Senate right now stands at a 50/50 split, and Congresswoman Bass has been talking with South Carolina senator Tim Scott in hopes of gaining his GOP support.

Travis Johnson (A.D.O.S./Activist)

Mrs. Donecia Banks-Miley (Attorney)

Baton Rouge, La Democrat Rep. Edmond Jordan wants to do away with qualified immunity altogether because no two cases are exactly alike and Attorney Donecia Banks-Miley from Monroe, La said, “Absolute immunity is giving them a privilege, so I would like to see it abolished.” She has seen a couple of these cases take place in Monroe, La, and most of the officers are let off the hook. Travis Johnson, activist, and member of A.D.O.S. said, “We have to look at qualified immunity as a tool that White Supremacy uses to continue the strategic and tactics that they put on our community.” A lot of people are starting to see the corruption and racism that still exist through law in America. Lawmakers in Baton Rouge are having discussions trying to find out a way to limit qualified immunity for police officers. Police officers have been acting above the law for quite some time and have been getting away with crimes. Is this an example of racism in America, or does this law hold a deeper agenda? And why are people in Congress, the Senate and, the Supreme Court looking over this policy instead of abolishing it?

The House Qualified Immunity Subcommittee of House Civil Law Procedure has met to review, study, and possibly amend the task force’s recommendation. It states that no element of qualified immunity shall be available to law enforcement officers as a defense to liability for claims brought under the state for physical injury, personal injury, or wrongful death inflicted by law enforcement. The subcommittee believes this will bring significant reform to policing in Louisiana. Recently, Louisiana State Troopers arrested four of their own in connection with using excessive force, deactivating their body cameras, and making false statements in an arrest that happened in 2019 and 2020. Federal authorities are also investigating a case involving the same troop where a black man (Donald Greene) died in State Trooper custody. Body-cam footage shows State Troopers beating, choking, and dragging Mr. Green face down across the pavement. In 2016, the shooting of Alton Sterling sparked outrage throughout Louisiana and it caused Louisiana to overhaul the decertification rules for police officers.

Louisiana State Police Troop F

The Police Officer Standards and Training Council is in charge of decertifying police for misconduct in Louisiana, in which they only decertified 26 permanently out of several hundred officers for failing to complete the training. Louisiana Representative Edward James said the new rules he helped draft were meant to mend to bring the police and the communities together. James still thought the rules were not enough because law enforcement made no fuss about it. Ursula Price, the executive director of New Orleans Workers’ Center of Racial Justice and the former deputy monitor at the New Orleans Police Monitor, says this method is rarely effective.

Why have the government and politicians been so against abolishing qualified immunity? In Louisiana and elsewhere, politicians are avoiding the conversation about abolishing the doctrine. Was the post-reconstruction era a part of an effort by white supremacy to rollback civil rights protection for black citizens? Police brutality has always been a threat to black and brown people in America, and racial profiling gives law enforcement an excuse to pull people over and violate their civil rights. So, the question is, if the government isn’t going to change this situation, who will?