Tell Baker to Stop Trying to Water Down the Police Reform Bill
In July, both the MA House and the MA Senate passed police reform bills that, although not as strong as they need to be, had a number of vital reforms. Two and a half weeks ago, the Legislature succeeded at hashing out a consensus version of their bills and sent them to the Governor to sign.
Instead of listening to the broad and diverse coalition calling
on him to sign the bill, Governor
Baker bowed to the pressure of police unions and sent the bill back to
the Legislature with harmful amendments.
Baker's amendments curtail key powers to establish training curricula
by a civilian board, allow broad use of the notoriously racist facial
recognition software, and severely weaken the definitions and
independent oversight for use of force by police.
Crucial negotiations are happening over the next few days, and your voice matters.
Call the Governor’s office at 617-725-4005 or email Governor Baker TODAY to tell him to stop trying to water down the bill.
To quote State Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, "The bill that emerged from conference committee was already a compromise package. It’s time to stop asking over-policed communities to give up more and more of the justice they’ve so long been fighting for."