Board of Aldermen Unanimously Passes Legislation for Use of Force Policies

Today, the Board of Aldermen unanimously approved Board Bill 63 Committee Substitute As Amended. The bill now moves to the Mayor’s desk for her signature.

“I am thankful to all of the members of the Board of Aldermen for coming together and unanimously passing legislation that will help to move our City forward. These policies will help set a new standard for our police department. It protects good officers and creates repercussions for those who operate outside of the rules,” said Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed. 

The bill establishes a law that bans chokeholds or strangleholds; require officers to use de-escalation tactics; establishes a duty to intervene policy; includes comprehensive reporting; requires officers to complete a report if a weapon is drawn and pointed at a civilian(s) regardless if the weapon was discharged or not; creates a mandate for a training program for police trainees to cover racial profiling, implicit bias, procedural justice; establishes a training program that covers the duty to intervene; a requirement for an annual comprehensive financial and management audits to be completed and submitted to the public; and a ban on "no-knock" warrants for municipal drug cases.