Although two-thirds of Americans oppose qualified immunity, powerful police unions have managed to scuttle bills almost everywhere. One exception is Colorado, where police are now liable for the first 5% or $25,000 of a settlement.
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A Police Reform That Can Work
Police killings of unarmed people of color persist because police seldom feel consequences. Criminal convictions are rare. In civil suits, local governments immunize their police. So taxpayers pay out millions of dollars each year in settlements to shield abusive cops — even cops who have stolen money or gone on a rampage while off duty. But what if that protection, called "qualified immunity" wasn't there? Some states and cities are showing what happens.
What does Colorado's abolition of qualified immunity tell us?
New York City's limits on qualified immunity happened in part because the city could measure the cost of lawsuits against the police. Here's how.
Legislatures in Connecticut, Colorado, New Mexico and most dramatically in New York City, have begun to put cracks in the shield of qualified immunity.
Advocates from BLM to law enforcement lobbies stood together for justice in 2020, backing Colorado's progressive policing reform law.
