Posted on 06/05/2020 8:46:19 AM PDT by RandFan
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – In a letter to congressional colleagues, Libertarian Rep. Justin Amash (MI-3) said he'll be introducing a bill to do away with the law that protects police officers from being sued while doing their jobs.
Sparked by the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, Amash said it was time for congress to open-up individual officers to legal punishments who use brutal tactics on suspects.
“This pattern continues because police are legally, politically, and culturally insulated from consequences -- that must change so that these incidents of brutality stop happening" the Congressman wrote.
“He's going to try to push it through the Judiciary Committee but I have my doubts as to whether that will ever happen,” Professor Peter Henning said. Henning teaches criminal law and professional responsibility at Wayne State University.
“Immunity has been part of the system since the mid-1960s,” he said. “Getting rid of absolute immunity for police officers is going to be very, very, very difficult.”
And that difficulty Henning says could shield the former officers in Minneapolis, including former officer Derek Chauvin who was charge with second-degree murder after kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than 8 minutes.
“We're going to see that police officer, being charged with a crime,” Henning said. “But can he interpose absolute immunity? The answer to that question may well be yes.”
Amash’s, a former Republican, bill already has support from some of the most liberal members of the House of Representatives, including Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-7) and Michigan delegation colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-13).
The bill also has a senatorial counterpart introduced by Sen. Corey Booker although the President has signaled in the past he would not sign a bill which would erode protection for officers in the line of duty.
The FED can’t enable these financially reckless blue cities.
No money.
Another piece of crap?! What is with these USA haters? Move to another country, Amash.
Stupid virtue signalling of the highest order. How do you strip sovereign immunity from one narrow slice of government, while (as I am certain) it will remain for remainder of government?
How is this even a Federal issue, Mr. So-Called-Libertarian? Want to change qualified immunity, take it up with the state legislatures.
But he claims to be a “True Conservative”.
Just another liberal phoney who suckered people in. Still on China’s payroll, no doubt.
Doesn’t seem very libertarian.
Tlaib’s support means it is a trash bill.
You can bet on that..
Let’s tie the cops’ hands, take their guns, defund the force and see what happens. Especially in the “Murder City,” Detroit. Mayhem.
Too bad you can’t sue politicians for the crimes they commit,
The more they try to cripple the police, the more important the 2nd amendment becomes.
That makes zero sense. How much money are they going to get from the officers? Certainly not as much as they’d get going after the deep pockets of the police department or local government.
Police, by their very nature, are going to make criminals angry. Now the criminals get to harass those who stopped their evil? This is a RATs idea of the good? Democrats continue to be the party of evil.
If this goes into effect, who would ever want to be an officer, knowing you will be bombarded with liability suits.
Many of those suits would probably be fake or based on pre-existing problems. No.
Qualified immunity is a doctrine created by federal courts, which applies only to federal cases under 42 U.S.C. 1983 (suits against state officers for violating federal constitutional rights).
1. Define “Victims”.
2. Are Politicians who ignore our Constitution exempt from being Sued? Their actions have much more far reaching effects than an isolated incident.
3. If a Victim (Criminal) is found Guilty of a Crime, can he / she / it still Sue?
4. Why would anyone decide to join a Police Force if this passes?
Does this mean people can sue Amash for claiming he’s a libertarian (fraud)?
Police officers could buy an insurance policy that would pay out claims and protect the taxpayer from financial liability when police officers become criminals and kill or injure citizens.
it will be interesting to see where the FR rowdies go on this one; they will have to see which one they currently hate the most — and they hate them both very much right now; law enforcement or justin mashed.
Good. Actually, this strengthens the concept of sovereign immunity - it means that the government itself cannot be sued for malfeasance, but its actors can.
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