We can live with it : Trumbull police commission satisfied with new accountability law
Donald Eng
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TRUMBULL The town’s police chief says Connecticut’s modified law enforcement accountability bill is more “reasonable.”
Gov. Ned Lamont signed the revised Public Act 21-4 into law on March 31.
“So, the legislature made changes in the wording and it’s, in my opinion, much more reasonable,” Trumbull Police Chief Michael Lombardo said this week during the police commission meeting.
“I’m not saying there weren’t areas for improvement, there always are. However, it still needs to be reasonable for a person to be able to function and keep themselves as safe as they can, while safeguarding others that they’re responsible for.”
Milford police sign 30x30 pledge to hire more women
Donald Eng
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Milford Police Officers Nikki McMahon, left, and Kathleen Bruno pose in front of police headquarters, in Milford, Conn. April 5, 2021.Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media
MILFORD As a woman in law enforcement, Milford Police Officer Nikki McMahon says there is a sense that she constantly has to prove her physical strength.
She said she prefers to show the strength of her compassion.
“Out of all the tools on my belt, the greatest one is compassion,” she said. “When I pull up at a scene and a mom is having the worst day of her life because maybe she’s been a victim of a crime or she can’t get in touch with her 12-year-old daughter, and I can tell her, “I’ve got two babies. I know.’”
“I don’t have experience in being a police officer. But I would like to state that I do have experience being a victim of excessive force, and in my opinion, for no good reason, other than the color of my skin,” Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, said during Monday’s virtual hearing.
Members of the Judiciary Committee heard testimony Monday from police officers and Connecticut’s top prosecutor on two bills that would make minor changes to the police accountability bill passed in the summer’s special session.
One of the proposals would alter the appointment process of the inspector general, a new independent prosecutor who will investigate deaths in police and corrections custody and, if necessary, pursue criminal charges.
“We’re not ready,” said Milford Police Chief Keith Mello, speaking on behalf of the state’s new police transparency and accountability task force. “This represents a change in a longstanding principle by which every Connecticut police officer has been trained, some for many years.”
Mello urged lawmakers to move the effective date from April 1 of this year to October of 2022. That s how long he said it will take to train all 9,000 municipal and state officers in Connecticut in the state s new use of force standards.
“If we can’t get everyone through the training, how can you hold this new law accountable against anybody? asked Republican State Senator Dan Champagne of Vernon.
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