By Chris Turner
Mar 11, 2021
The Iowa Senate is sending a bill to the House that would cut off state funding for any communities who defund the police . This is not the time to cut funding, said Senate Republican Chris Cournoyer. We must continue to invest in public safety by providing robust law enforcement training that continually evolves to meet the needs of our communities.
Some Democrats argue this move hurts local governments that have to make tough budget decisions in the future. You re going to make it harder for local governments to increase police funding with this legislation, said Democrat Nate Boulton. Without the fear of permanently increasing budgets, and making it impossible for a local government entity to ever step away from that decision.
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The Iowa Senate has approved adding expansive lawsuit immunity for police officers to Iowa code and allowing officers to receive more information in complaint investigations, including the names of people who filed complaints against them. A responding officer in a high-pressure situation cannot hesitate or deliberate the intentions of the law for fear of a frivolous lawsuit, Sen. Chris Cournoyer, R-LeClaire, said from the Senate floor before the Monday evening vote. To be clear, this bill does not protect negligence, incompetence or officers that knowingly violate the law.
Iowa s push to codify so-called qualified immunity for law enforcement comes as lawmakers in some states have introduced legislation to eliminate it as a legal defense. The U.S. House passed a similar bill at the federal level last week.
The Iowa Senate passed legislation Monday intended to strengthen “qualified immunity” for law enforcement officers who take forceful action in situations where state law is “not sufficiently clear” to understand