Vermont S 97: An act relating to creating municipal and regional civilian oversight of law enforcement

Bill Text

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S.97 1
Introduced by Senator Vyhovsky 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Government operations; law enforcement; civilian oversight 5
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to create 6
municipal and regional civilian oversight bodies to receive, investigate, and 7
address complaints against a law enforcement agency or officer within their 8
jurisdiction. A board’s investigation is in addition to the investigations that 9
may be conducted by a law enforcement agency and the Vermont Criminal 10
Justice Council. Each board is empowered to hire or contract with staff to 11
assist with its functions. Each board is authorized to draft a public report after 12
a substantiated investigation, and its recommendations can be given deference 13
by the Vermont Criminal Justice Council in its adjudication of unprofessional 14
conduct complaints against law enforcement officers. Each board is also 15
authorized to monitor law enforcement trends, make law enforcement training 16
recommendations to the Vermont Criminal Justice Council, and participate in 17
the collective bargaining process of the law enforcement agency within its 18
jurisdiction. The Vermont Criminal Justice Council is also mandated to 19
administer a grant program to assist municipalities and regions in 20

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implementing their boards, which is supported by a $500,000.00 appropriation 1
to the Council. 2
An act relating to creating municipal and regional civilian oversight of law 3
enforcement 4
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 5
Sec. 1. 20 V.S.A. § 2351a is amended to read: 6
§ 2351a. DEFINITIONS 7
As used in this chapter: 8
* * * 9
(5) “Community police oversight board” has the same meaning as in 10
24 V.S.A. chapter 56. 11
Sec. 2. 20 V.S.A. § 2358 is amended to read: 12
§ 2358. MINIMUM TRAINING STANDARDS; DEFINITIONS 13
* * * 14
(g) The Council shall not offer or approve, and a community police 15
oversight board shall not recommend, any training on the use of a chokehold as 16
defined in section 2401 of this chapter, except for training designed to identify 17
and prevent the use of chokeholds. 18
(h) A community police oversight board may make recommendations to 19
the Council concerning basic training and annual in-service training 20

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requirements for the Council to offer or approve. If the Council does not adopt 1
a community police oversight board’s recommendation, it shall provide the 2
board with its reasons in writing. 3
Sec. 3. 20 V.S.A. § 2401 is amended to read: 4
§ 2401. DEFINITIONS 5
As used in this subchapter: 6
* * * 7
(4) “Effective internal affairs program” means that a law enforcement 8
agency does all of the following: 9
* * * 10
(E) Civilian review. Provides for review of officer discipline by 11
civilians, which may be a selectboard or other elected or appointed body, at 12
least for the conduct required to be reported to the Council under this 13
subchapter Community police oversight board investigation. An agency must 14
report all complaints pursuant to subdivision (A) of this subdivision (4) to the 15
community police oversight board having jurisdiction within seven business 16
days after receiving the complaint. The agency shall permit and fully 17
cooperate with any action the community police oversight board may 18
undertake pursuant to its authority. 19
* * * 20

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Sec. 4. 20 V.S.A. § 2403 is amended to read: 1
§ 2403. LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES; DUTY TO REPORT 2
(a)(1) The executive officer of a law enforcement agency or the chair of the 3
agency’s civilian review board community police oversight board having 4
jurisdiction shall report to the Council within 10 business days if any of the 5
following occur in regard to a law enforcement officer of the agency: 6
(A) Category A. 7
(i) There is a finding of probable cause by a court that the officer 8
committed Category A conduct. 9
(ii) There is any decision or findings of fact or verdict regarding 10
allegations that the officer committed Category A conduct, including a judicial 11
decision and any appeal from a decision. 12
(iii) The agency receives a credible complaint against the officer 13
that alleges that the officer committed Category A conduct. 14
* * * 15
(2) As part of his or her the executive officer’s report, the executive 16
officer of the agency or the chair of the civilian review board community 17
police oversight board having jurisdiction shall provide to the Council a copy 18
of any relevant documents associated with the report, including any findings, 19
decision, and the agency’s investigative report. 20

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(b) The Council and the community police oversight board having 1
jurisdiction s