The Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns has announced its support for proposed changes to the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (LEOBOR), saying the reforms will help resolve a long-running dispute between law enforcement and communities.
The revisions proposed in the Law Enforcement Officers’ Due Process, Accountability, and Transparency Act include creating a five-member hearing committee charged with investigating complaints against police officers, implementing a two-tiered suspension structure allowing for a suspension of up to 14 days, and allowing police chiefs to make public statements and release video under certain circumstances.
“The reforms outlined in this legislation represent a significant step in achieving the compromise that stakeholders, including our municipal leaders and their police chiefs, have been working toward for many years,” said Ernie Almonte, Executive Director of the R.I. League of Cities and Towns. “As amended, these bills will strengthen public trust in our law enforcement while also maintaining a system that upholds officers’ rights. We look forward to working with the General Assembly and the Police Chief’s Association to move this legislation over the finish line.”
The proposed changes are the result of collaboration between community stakeholders and municipal leaders, including the R.I. League of Cities and Towns, the Rhode Island Bar Association, and the Supreme Court’s committee on racial and ethnic fairness.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.