police reform bill

The marker President Joe Biden set to pass a major police reform bill couldn’t have been clearer — he urged lawmakers directly in his address to Congress last month to “get it done next month, by the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death.” But as it became clear that no bill would arrive by Tuesday, White House officials spent last week wrestling with...

Massachusetts senators passed a scaled-back version of a police reform bill Monday. With the House in session Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Gov. Charlie Baker said he would sign the new version if the House goes along with the changes.

Aiming to find compromise with Gov. Charlie Baker over police accountability and oversight, senators agreed Monday to scale back restrictions they had sought to put on the use of facial recognition software by law enforcement and to limit the influence of a civilian led commission over police training. The newest version of the police reform legislation emerged in the Senate…

The Massachusetts Senate plans to vote Monday on a police reform and racial justice bill that Gov. Charlie Baker returned with amendments and a veto threat, though it remains unclear on which points — if any — lawmakers will concede. Senate President Karen Spilka announced Monday afternoon that her chamber would advance the legislation later in the day, revealing little…

Gov. Charlie Baker has one week, until Friday, Dec. 11, to decide what to do with the 129-policing accountability bill that the Massachusetts Legislature sent him Tuesday night. The bill passed without the support of a single GOP lawmaker — all 35, four in the Senate and 31 in the House, voted against it, as did unenrolled Rep. Susannah Whipps…

Sue O’Connell sat down with community organizer Chip Goines to talk about what he expects from the Biden administration and local governments as calls for police reform grow louder.

Lawmakers on Beacon Hill are working to pass a police reform bill that would change the way police officers are certified in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts House and Senate voted Tuesday to approve a compromise bill backers say would increase police accountability — including, for the first time, creating an independent, civilian-led commission to standardize the certification, training and decertification of police officers. The bill would also ban the use of chokeholds, limit the use of deadly force, and create a duty to intervene…

After contentious mid-summer debates followed by four months of closed-door negotiations, House and Senate Democrats reached a compromise Monday on a landmark police reform and racial justice bill. Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, and Sen. Will Brownsberger delivered their committee’s compromise policing reform bill to Senate Clerk Michael Hurley around 5 p.m. Monday. The 129-page bill is based...

Legislators will take up a police reform bill Monday based on legislation that passed through the House and Senate as a response to national protests against police violence and the disproportionate impacts communities of color experience from the criminal justice system.

Massachusetts lawmakers finished their work on a compromise police reform bill Monday, filing an updated version of the landmark legislation that Democratic leaders praised as “one of the most comprehensive approaches to police reform and racial justice” in the country.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a sweeping police reform bill Friday night that would create a new system to license cops and enforce limits on the use of force, like chokeholds and tear gas.

Facing resistance from police but carrying momentum from protests and poll results, the Massachusetts House plans to meet for a second day of deliberations Thursday on a reform bill that seeks to certify law enforcement officers and curb use of force tactics like chokeholds and tear gas. During an 11-hour session on Wednesday, the House adopted six amendments, rejected as…

The Massachusetts House of Representatives has taken up the debate over police reform legislation.

A dozen reverends from Black churches across Massachusetts gathered on the steps of the State House to call on lawmakers to pass police reform legislation. The Senate has done it. The House is debating its bill this week, but these religious leaders say it doesn’t go far enough.

The father of DJ Henry, a young Black man killed by police 10 years ago, said Thursday he hopes a renewed call for justice from celebrities like Jay-Z and Rihanna will help spur prosecutors to reopen his son’s case. “We’re looking for willing hearts. People get it, conceptually, in their heads. They might even sort of feel emotionally connected...

Danroy Henry Sr., the father of DJ Henry, a Black Pace University student and football player who was killed by a white police officer in 2010, wants the case reopened. He spoke to NBC10 Boston after celebrities asked U.S. Attorney General Barr to reexamine the case.

The Massachusetts Senate continued debate Monday on a bill backers say would increase police accountability, in part by imposing limits on the “qualified immunity” that now shields officers from civil prosecution. The bill would ban chokeholds and racial profiling in law enforcement, create a Police Officer Standards and Accreditation Commission, and place a moratorium on facial surveillance technology. It also…

The bill would create an independent oversight and investigatory body to hold police accountable and create a system to certify law enforcement officers. Police officers would also be required to intervene if they witness police misconduct and undergo racism training.