​Four years ago, in the wake of the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and too many others, there was a growing bipartisan consensus on commonsense police reform and accountability measures. These proposals would reduce the risk of future incidents of unarmed people being seriously injured or killed by police, reduce bias-based policing, and improve community trust of law enforcement.

We are still waiting for meaningful legislative action to address these concerns.

We call on the Michigan Legislature to pass mainstream police improvement and community trust legislation to:

* Limit the use of no-knock warrants and provide clear guidelines for authorization and execution of such warrants.

* Establish a “duty to intervene” for law enforcement officers when they see a colleague use excessive force.

* Require law enforcement agencies to adopt use of force policies and that such policies cover the use of physical force, issuing a verbal warning, not using chokeholds, and the use of deadly force.

* Prohibit officers from knowingly and intentionally removing, altering, concealing, destroying, or otherwise tampering with body cam footage or deactivating a body camera.

* Implement ongoing training for officers regarding de-escalation tactics, implicit bias, and crisis response techniques.

* Allow the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards​ (MCOLES) to revoke the licenses of officers found to have used excessive force resulting in death or serious injury while on duty and strengthening background check requirements.

* Amend current law that protects compulsory statements by police officers during the course of an internal investigation of wrongdoing to only provide protection for truthful statements.

* Protect the anonymity of some complaints about misconduct against a law enforcement officer.

The current bills are thoughtful, well researched, supported by many law enforcement leaders, several county sheriffs, and have broad public support. We know that having strong police use of force policies decreases not only injuries and deaths of community members, but law enforcement officers as well.

There is strong public support for this commonsense police improvement and community relations bill package. An August 2023 YouGov poll of 851 Michigan voters found that:

* 91% of respondents support establishing a “duty to intervene” when one officer observes a colleague using excessive force;

* 89% of respondents support requiring de-escalation training for law enforcement personnel;

* 66% of respondents support banning chokeholds;

* 64% of respondents support limiting the use of no-knock warrants except for extreme circumstances;

* 78% of respondents believe that passing these policies would improve their community's relationship with police or have no effect.

Please fast-track introduction, hearing, and votes on these vital public safety bills.

Law enforcement officers are entrusted with the power over other people’s lives and liberty. This tremendous power comes with the need for strong, clear, and transparent standards of professional contact and accountability.

We implore you: follow through on the promises of recent years, show the public you take police improvement and community relations seriously before another violent incident occurs, and pass commonsense bipartisan police accountability legislation this season.