Four years after the tragic deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and too many others, Michigan is still waiting for meaningful police reform. Despite strong bipartisan support and well-crafted proposals refined through extensive outreach to law enforcement and community groups, no substantial legislative action has occurred.
With time running out in this legislative session, we urgently need your help to push forward a package of commonsense bills designed to:
- Limit the use of no-knock warrants to high-risk situations only.
- Establish a “duty to intervene” when officers witness a colleague using excessive force.
- Require clear and comprehensive use-of-force policies, including bans on chokeholds and guidelines for de-escalation.
- Protect body camera footage from tampering and ensure transparency.
- Provide ongoing training in de-escalation, implicit bias, and crisis response.
- Revoke licenses of officers who use excessive force resulting in death or serious injury.
- Improve tracking of separation of service records when law enforcement officers leave a department.
- Amend current law to exclude false police testimony from protections for compulsory statements by police officers during the course of an internal investigation of wrongdoing.
- Protect the anonymity of some complaints about misconduct against a law enforcement officer.
These measures have broad public and law enforcement support. An July 2023 poll found overwhelming approval for intervention and de-escalation policies, as well as limitations on high-risk tactics.
How You Can Make a Difference
Sign our petition today. Together, we can create safer, more accountable policing in Michigan.
For more information, contact Chuck Warpehoski at chuckw@mi-cemi.org.
* Links are to previous versions of legislation. Current bills have not yet been introduced.