MAYNARD BAKER FOR CONGRESS issued the following announcement on July 27.
While the Maynard Police Chief Michael Noble agrees with much of the proposed legislation for police reform, he says good legislation takes time and requires input from the people on the front lines.
“If both the legislators and police leaders could sit down and take our time, we could come up with legislation that would be the standard, that would be followed on a national level. We can’t ‘knee-jerk’ this legislation without truly looking at the consequences,” Noble stated in an email.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a sweeping police reform and accountability bill, on July 24, by a vote of 93-66, that seeks to certify all law enforcement officers in the state and curb the use of force tactics by police.
The bill, representing the House’s attempt at addressing calls to counter systemic racism and force changes within law enforcement, largely stayed true to core principals the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus put forward early last month.
Noble joined nearly 100 of the state’s 351 police chiefs in Framingham, on July 21, to criticize the bills, and urge Gov. Charlie Baker and state legislators to work with police on the legislation instead of cutting them out of the conversation.
“The chiefs across Massachusetts agree good reform is needed and many of the core items in these legislations are aligned with what we all want. However, because it was rushed without contemplating unintended consequences, the wordage and the way the legislation was drafted [have] significant problems. The utter need to rush this most important legislation through in a few weeks could be devastating to society as a whole, not just the police,” Noble stated.
The Senate approved its bill on a 30-7 vote. Both bills will likely head next to six-member House-Senate conference committee for resolution, before going to Baker’s desk, but time is running out, as formal legislative sessions end July 31.
Original source here.
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