PA Bill Would Require Independent Investigations Of Fatal Police Shootings

HARRISBURG, PA — A state lawmaker has announced a bill that would require independent investigations when there is a deadly police shooting, saying that public trust in law enforcement has been eroding after various incidents involving police killings, both across the commonwealth and throughout the nation.

State Sen. Art Haywood, a Democrat representing portions of Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties, is the sponsor behind Senate Bill 1026, which was last referred to the Senate Law and Justice Committee.

Legislative records show that the proposal currently has 10 cosponsors.

"Our criminal justice system is meant to be impartial without the presence or appearance of bias or conflicts of interest," Haywood wrote in a sponsorship memorandum. "Public trust in law enforcement is fundamental."

However, the senator wrote in his memo, the tragic deaths of certain members of society at the hands of police officers have shown that in some instances, "there is the appearance of conflict in the investigation of a police-involved killing that can lead the public to believe that justice is not being dispensed fairly."

"Civil unrest is a by-product of lack of trust in law enforcement," Haywood wrote. "Community leaders have called repeatedly for independent investigations of police involved killings to trust that justice will be provided."

Haywood said his measure would require that county district attorneys, and not the police department where the killing happened, conduct investigations into any police involved killing.

"This ensures the police department being investigated for deadly force will not conduct the criminal investigation of its own officers," Haywood wrote.

Haywood said under his proposal, a county district attorney could either investigate the matter itself, refer it to the state Attorney General's Office or refer it to a grand jury.

"It is clear trust must be repaired in the criminal justice system, as outrage continues to erupt all over the state in the wake of every use of deadly force," Haywood wrote. "We must restore the public's faith."

According to a report by Spotlight PA, current Pennsylvania law allows county district attorneys to refer matters to the state Attorney General's Office in instances involving conflicts of interest, but the AG's Office cannot start up an inquiry if a DA refuses to sign off.

In his sponsorship memo, Haywood singled out certain police killings that spurred him into action.

They included the deaths of Antwon Rose in Pittsburgh, Ricardo Munoz in Lancaster, Christian Hall in Stroudsburg, and national cases such as the high-profile killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.