End qualified immunity

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As I have been following the news in recent months, I have been listening to the voices calling for the protection of black lives, and for police accountability.

I support the end of qualified immunity for police officers.

Qualified immunity grants government officials immunity from civil lawsuits for their actions while doing their jobs. It is not a constitutional principle. It was a doctrine created in 1967 by the Supreme Court. Since 2005, courts have applied the doctrine even in cases of excessive force or police brutality.

An incident that happened yesterday illustrates for me why police must be held personally accountable. It is why I am compelled to speak out now.

A mom and her four daughters were sitting in their SUV in a parking lot in Aurora Colorado. Police officers approached with guns drawn, handcuffed the entire family, including the six-year old daughter, and made them lay face down on hot concrete.

The officers approached the vehicle because their records showed it as stolen. Thankfully the officers realized the vehicle was not stolen, and let everyone go. But why did the officers check the plates in the first place? The family were doing nothing but sitting in their car in a parking lot getting ready to have their nails done.

The family was black. Oh. That explains everything, doesn't it? But it shouldn't. And that is the problem. Check out the article and video.

The mom has an attorney and will most likely be suing the police department. Good luck to her. But what about the individual officers? How can they be held accountable for what they did to those kids? They can't, because of qualified immunity.

That offends me. If it offends you, there is something you can do about it. Contact your congressional representative and support H.R. 7085, the End Qualified Immunity Act.

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