Pa. House, Senate unanimously pass police reform measures

HARRISBURG — Bills to give police departments information about an applicant’s disciplinary past and to train officers in how to interact with people of different racial and ethic backgrounds were approved unanimously on Wednesday by the state House.

The House voted after an emotional debate to require thorough background checks and to mandate that an applicant’s former department must provide information on the officer’s job history, including disciplinary actions.

One of the bills directs the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission to maintain an electronic database with details about why officers have left employment. Agencies would have to check the database before hiring an officer.

“So-called bad apples will spoil the barrel if they are not plucked out before the rot spreads,” said Rep. Margo Davidson, D-Delaware. “We have to address a culture where bad actors go unpunished or move on with their baggage.”

The hiring bill states explicitly that the records are not subject to the state’s Right-to-Know Law.

The other House measure would require police to be trained in how to recognize and report child abuse, as well as how to treat people from various racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds.

There would also be annual training on the use of force, including conflict deescalation. Officers would be trained every two years on cultural awareness and implicit bias.

Both measures were sent to the state Senate.

The state Senate on Wednesday unanimously passed proposals to ban chokeholds unless deadly force is authorized and require all police agencies to keep track of instances in which police have used physical force.

A bill introduced by Sen. Jay Costa, a Forest Hills Democrat, mandates that police departments in Pennsylvania maintain records of use-of-force incidents, including details of the event, reason for the use, any injuries inflicted and whether it resulted in property damage or death. The reports would go to the Pennsylvania State Police, which would issue reports to the General Assembly.

“As a former law enforcement officer, I understand the pressure that our policemen and women are under, and I know that we can make common sense reforms to our justice system to make it better and improve its outcomes,” Costa said in a statement.

The other measure, introduced by Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, bans police officers from using chokeholds and would require that municipal police departments adopt a use-of-force policy, which would be public and used in training.

Senate Democrats intend to introduce other police reform measures throughout the summer and fall.

Both Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association expressed support for the reform measures.