LANSING, Mich. (May 27, 2021) — Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) has issued the following statement after his bill, Senate Bill 474, received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning as part of a larger, bipartisan, 12-bill police improvement package announced on Tuesday:
“Following the solemn anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, we must push forward on solutions to reform policing and public safety. I’m proud to join with my colleagues from both parties to introduce legislation to propel needed changes.
“Our police departments can only keep our communities safe if our constituents trust those who are hired to protect them. We must ensure that bad cops who repeatedly and dangerously breech policy are removed from the force, rather than allowing them to transfer across jurisdictions to soil another department. When officers leave one law enforcement agency for another, my bill requires that the separation reports detailing why they left include any use of force violations, so agencies have another tool to maintain the integrity of their force.
“I look forward to growing the bipartisan support for this bill and the others in the package when our legislation is considered before the full Senate.”
SB 474 would increase transparency and accountability for police officers by requiring Use of Force violations to be included in separation records maintained by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES).
###