“Police departments across the country are moving toward—not- away from—more transparency in police-involved and use-of-force incidents. Law enforcement agencies and citizen advocates alike back release of this information as a means to calm their communities, affirm their commitment to transparency, and assure community members that the criminal justice system is working, or will work, fairly and appropriately,” the association said in a statement.
“The names of police officers whose actions cause injury to citizens must be presumptively public. HB 1538 would also inappropriately tie the hands of police departments all across Pennsylvania by prohibiting them from releasing officer identities, whether the situation demands it or not. We believe that the bill is bad public policy, contrary to the public’s right to know and understand what is happening in their communities, and detrimental to police/community relations and trust.”
Though the legislation passed with bi-partisan support by a veto-proof margin, it is doubtful the legislature will attempt to override the governor’s action. Its two-year session ends Nov. 30, and lawmakers have already left the Capitol for the holidays with no plans to return until the new two-year session begins in January.
State Rep. Martina White, R-Philadelphia, who sponsored the bill, released a statement saying she would re-introduce it in the next session.
“Shootings are increasingly political,” she said. “That places the lives of our officers and the lives of their family members in danger. While we need transparency whenever police are involved in a shooting, we owe our officers basic protection from threats.”
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