The Georgia legislature approved measures to protect law enforcement officers on Tuesday and the bill is on its way to the Governor’s desk.
The Georgia Senate converted House Bill 838, which originally addressed the name of a state agency, into a vehicle bill that passed with language to include the ‘Peace Officers Bill of Rights’ and standards for punishing individuals who commit offenses against peace officers in the state of Georgia.
The bill does a number of things, but most notably allows an officer to seek civil damages in instances where a claim was brought forth against them when the person knew the claim was false at the time of filing.
The bill also mandates that a complaint be dismissed if an agency does not complete an Internal Affairs investigation within 120 days of the complaint. The officer would not be eligible for punishment, demotion or dismissal for that complaint unless the investigation was reopened because new evidence was discovered or other evidence that could not have been known at the time of the investigation is uncovered.
Further, the bill mandates that every agency have a process to file complaints against an officer or deputy. Along those lines, the bill seals complaints filed and investigated from release under the Open Records Act. This means that a complaint deemed unfounded would not be available for public review, nor would a founded complaint that does not result in discipline.
Most controversially to Democrats and supporters of the hate crime legislation, HB 838 codifies that, if a peace officer is being interrogated for any reason that could lead to discipline/suspension/termination or arrest, the following conditions must apply:
- the interrogation occur while the officer is on-duty, unless exigent circumstances apply due to the nature of an alleged crime;
- the interrogation must occur at the command center/HQ;
- the officer must be given the rank & name of the interrogating officer;
- the peace officer under investigation shall be informed of the nature of the investigation before any interrogation begins;
- interrogations must be recorded in their entirety
- a peace officer must be informed of all of their rights, especially if an arrest is possible
- a peace officer cannot be threatened with his/her job for refusing to answer and cannot be promised a reward for answering
- if an officer wants legal counsel present, they must be present for the duration of the interrogation.
Many of these conditions are already standard in agencies in the state, but this codifies the policies.
The Southern Center for Human Rights opposed the legislation, saying the bill gave preferential treatment to police officers, including allowing them to be paid for their time if officers are interrogated on duty.
The measure passed narrowly in the House, mostly along party lines. Story continues below.
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Sue Jurists
June 26, 2020 at 5:07 pm
Wow, citizens dont have this level of protection. Why not just say police are above the law and can do whatever an be done with it. They are using the constitution as toilet paper at this point.
Truth Seeker
July 3, 2020 at 3:29 am
Citizens do have this level of protection. Should probably look up your own legal rights. The question is why is this being doubled up on? Don’t these rights already exist. The answer to the second question, btw, is yes. Citizens get these rights already. The great shame is that most citizens don’t know what their rights are.
Letonya
June 27, 2020 at 10:58 am
Horrific and a soft Nazi style law in the Jump Start Mode! WE the PEOPLE are NO MORE. It’s terror, murder at the request of simple accountability of the police structure. They turn the tables on America. Fascist has begun, history taught us nothing, but how to manipulate the course to the desire of the puppet master, who wants all control over the masses. It’s JUST US…NOT JUSTICE! She is not BLIND anymore. She is a snake and thief that makes laws by night. The people eyes are WIDE OPEN, but they don’t see it in plain sight. We have sick people in control. They don’t serve the people, they serve themselves. with a slogan of make America Great…MY QUESTION IS….
WHEN? ..
Joclyn
June 28, 2020 at 12:39 pm
Good old boys an Uncle toms.The same old marriage for years.Nothing New.You can’t go Jogging..(if your Black)Cant smoke a joint.The powersvthat be made parents with very sick kids BEG THEM for some BS.CBD oil..low level oil the %you can buy in stores.You can’t get a fair vote.So what makes you think something will changed with the cops.Waste of a report. FOH.
Wayne
May 26, 2021 at 10:21 am
They give police the power to do what ever..they not protecting us..they killing is and getting away with it.now in Georgia this racist ass governor is protecting criminals in uniforms..they know what they doing..they are above the law that’s why they don’t want you to record them..foh