L.C. 8.2: Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2020

[S019]

Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2020

1. Releasing Non-Violent Offenders From Prison
a. Any individual currently in prison in Lincoln for non-violent drug offenses such as possession or distribution of any narcotic or narcotic paraphernalia shall be released from prison no later than December 31st 2020 or earlier by the determination of local judicial review.
b. Any individual released from prison as outlined in the above section shall have their record expunged of any non-violent drug offenses.
c. Any individual whose right to vote was stripped due to felony convictions associated with the provisions outlined above shall have that right restored without fine or injunction.

2. Banning For-Profit Prisons
a. All for-profit prisons are hereby banned in Lincoln.
b. "For-profit prison" shall be defined as any privately owned and operated detention facility that is not funded in whole or in part by taxes paid by the citizens of Lincoln.
c. It is hereby illegal for the Region of Lincoln or any local governments within Lincoln to grant any public money to for-profit prisons as outlined above.

3. Police Reform
a. All police officers in Lincoln are hereby required to wear functional body cameras during any encounter with the public.
b. Any officer who fails to wear a functional body camera during interactions with the public shall be subject to review overseen by an official in a statewide or regional Justice Department official. Officers who repeatedly fail to wear functional body cameras shall be subject to penalties including fines, imprisonment as determined by local judicial officials, and termination. No officer fired for failing to wear a functional body camera shall be rehired within Lincoln for a period of at least one (1) full calendar year.
c. Any officer who fires their duty weapon must immediately turn over body camera footage and file a detailed report indicating the circumstances and justification for such an action. These reports shall then be subject to review overseen by an official in the department itself as well as the regional Justice Department. Any officer found to have misled their department or the regional government shall be subject to termination. Any officer fired for misleading their department or the regional government shall be permanently barred from working as a law enforcement officer in Lincoln.
d. Qualified immunity is hereby banned in Lincoln. Any citizen of Lincoln may file suit against an officer or officers as well as their department for any perceived civil rights violation.
e. No victim of police violence shall be barred from suing any officer, officers, or department in the course of an investigation as outlined in section C.
f. Chokeholds or any method of restraining a suspect's ability to breathe are hereby banned in Lincoln.
g. Rubber bullets, tear gas, and any similar method of crowd dispersal are hereby banned in Lincoln unless declared lawful by the Governor of Lincoln, subject to approval from the Council, in times of great civil unrest where all other options of crowd containment and dispersal have been exhausted.
h. In the event of rubber bullets or tear gas being used as outlined above, no projectile shall be shot directly at a citizen under any circumstances. Any law enforcement officer found in violation of this ban shall be subject to imprisonment for assault with a deadly weapon or any charge found suitable by local prosecutors.
i. Police departments are hereby forbidden from purchasing or owning any weapons or equipment previously owned by military forces including tanks, body armor, high capacity assault weapons, tear gas, "flash bang" grenades, or any similar piece of equipment.
j. The use of high capacity assault weapons and body armor shall be legal for SWAT teams serving legal warrants.
k. "No-knock" warrants are hereby banned in Lincoln. This shall be defined as any law enforcement official serving a warrant without previously knocking and identifying themselves with the correct department first.
l. Any officer performing a welfare check in Lincoln shall first identify themselves with the correct department prior to entering any domicile and shall be barred from drawing their duty weapon prior to entering a domicile unless fired upon first. This provision is still subject to the details outlined in subsection c.

4. Implementation
a. This act shall take effect no later than two months after its passage or December 1st 2020, whichever comes first.
b. This act and all provisions herein shall be subject to amendment by the Council of Lincoln at any time if deemed necessary.

Sponsor: S019

Debate on this has begun and shall last for at least 72 hours

[S019]

Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2020

1. Releasing Non-Violent Offenders From Prison
a. Any individual currently in prison in Lincoln for non-violent drug offenses such as possession or distribution of any narcotic or narcotic paraphernalia shall be released from prison no later than December 31st 2020 or earlier by the determination of local judicial review.
b. Any individual released from prison as outlined in the above section shall have their record expunged of any non-violent drug offenses.
c. Any individual whose right to vote was stripped due to felony convictions associated with the provisions outlined above shall have that right restored without fine or injunction.
d. Any individual currently in prison in Lincoln for non-violent drug offenses shall instead be required to attend substance abuse counseling, including drug rehabilitation, for a period of at least 5 months. Repeat drug offenses shall result in being sent to a drug rehabilitation center for a period of at least 5 months. The goal at these centers shall be to get the individual off of dependence from the drug as well as counseling and not on punishment.

2. Banning For-Profit Prisons
a. All for-profit prisons are hereby banned in Lincoln.
b. "For-profit prison" shall be defined as any privately owned and operated detention facility that is not funded in whole or in part by taxes paid by the citizens of Lincoln.
c. It is hereby illegal for the Region of Lincoln or any local governments within Lincoln to grant any public money to for-profit prisons as outlined above.

3. Police Reform
a. All police officers in Lincoln are hereby required to wear functional body cameras during any encounter with the public.
b. Any officer who fails to wear a functional body camera during interactions with the public shall be subject to review overseen by an official in a statewide or regional Justice Department official. Officers who repeatedly fail to wear functional body cameras shall be subject to penalties including fines, imprisonment as determined by local judicial officials, and termination. No officer fired for failing to wear a functional body camera shall be rehired within Lincoln for a period of at least one (1) full calendar year.
c. Any officer who fires their duty weapon must immediately turn over body camera footage and file a detailed report indicating the circumstances and justification for such an action. These reports shall then be subject to review overseen by an official in the department itself as well as the regional Justice Department. Any officer found to have misled their department or the regional government shall be subject to termination. Any officer fired for misleading their department or the regional government shall be permanently barred from working as a law enforcement officer in Lincoln.
d. Qualified immunity is hereby banned in Lincoln. Any citizen of Lincoln may file suit against an officer or officers as well as their department for any perceived civil rights violation.
e. No victim of police violence shall be barred from suing any officer, officers, or department in the course of an investigation as outlined in section C.
f. Chokeholds or any method of restraining a suspect's ability to breathe are hereby banned in Lincoln.
g. Rubber bullets, tear gas, and any similar method of crowd dispersal are hereby banned in Lincoln unless declared lawful by the Governor of Lincoln, subject to approval from the Council, in times of great civil unrest where all other options of crowd containment and dispersal have been exhausted. However, individual state governors may also declare such methods legal in their own states during times of great unrest, if they desire, subject to approval of three-fifths of the members of each state legislature.
h. In the event of rubber bullets or tear gas being used as outlined above, no projectile shall be shot directly at a citizen under any circumstances. Any law enforcement officer found in violation of this ban shall be subject to imprisonment for assault with a deadly weapon or any charge found suitable by local prosecutors.
i. Police departments are hereby forbidden from purchasing or owning any weapons or equipment previously owned by military forces including tanks, body armor, high capacity assault weapons, tear gas, "flash bang" grenades, or any similar piece of equipment.
j. The use of high capacity assault weapons and body armor shall be legal for SWAT teams serving legal warrants.
k. "No-knock" warrants are hereby banned in Lincoln. This shall be defined as any law enforcement official serving a warrant without previously knocking and identifying themselves with the correct department first.
l. Any officer performing a welfare check in Lincoln shall first identify themselves with the correct department prior to entering any domicile and shall be barred from drawing their duty weapon prior to entering a domicile unless fired upon first. This provision is still subject to the details outlined in subsection c.

4. Implementation
a. This act shall take effect no later than two months after its passage or December 1st 2020, whichever comes first.
b. This act and all provisions herein shall be subject to amendment by the Council of Lincoln at any time if deemed necessary.

So, I think this is mostly good, though I'd want to make g slightly less restrictive, say let states also decide when this is needed. Also I do think rehabilitation for drug offenders is a better thing than prison and they honestly do need some type of treatment to not end up in the same situation, so this amendment should address those concerns.

Anyways, 24 hours to object

[Lambsbread]

I'm okay with the amendment in section 1, though I'd prefer to create separate legislation to focus on rehabilitating drug users, including safe injection sites and better funding for individualized abuse counseling. But that's okay for now.

As for section G, I don't approve of that amendment. The purpose of the section is to make it an absolute last resort to use tear gas, rubber bullets, etc. Giving individual state governors and legislatures the power to override that and use them at their discretion seems to undermine that goal.

[S019]

Going to object to my own amendment (this counts as an objection), and see what people think about the edits to section g., if the amendment vote fails, then I'll just propose the amendment to section 1, since that seems uncontroversial

[S019]

Since there was an objection, vote on the amendment is open and will be open for 24 hours, please vote AYE, NAY, or ABSTAIN

AYE

[Sirius_]

Nay, but can you please let us vote separately on amendments which are unrelated?

[Brother Jonathan]

Aye

[CookieDamage]

Nay.

[n1240]

Nay

[S019]

Amendment fails by a vote of 2-3-0-0

AYE: S019, Brother Jonathan
NAY: Ninja0428, cookiedamage, n1240
ABSTAIN:
NOT VOTING:

[S019]

So, I guess I'll now propose the amendment that only deals with drug rehabilitation:

Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2020

1. Releasing Non-Violent Offenders From Prison
a. Any individual currently in prison in Lincoln for non-violent drug offenses such as possession or distribution of any narcotic or narcotic paraphernalia shall be released from prison no later than December 31st 2020 or earlier by the determination of local judicial review.
b. Any individual released from prison as outlined in the above section shall have their record expunged of any non-violent drug offenses.
c. Any individual whose right to vote was stripped due to felony convictions associated with the provisions outlined above shall have that right restored without fine or injunction.
d. Any individual currently in prison in Lincoln for non-violent drug offenses shall instead be required to attend substance abuse counseling, including drug rehabilitation, for a period of at least 5 months. Repeat drug offenses shall result in being sent to a drug rehabilitation center for a period of at least 5 months. The goal at these centers shall be to get the individual off of dependence from the drug as well as counseling and not on punishment.

2. Banning For-Profit Prisons
a. All for-profit prisons are hereby banned in Lincoln.
b. "For-profit prison" shall be defined as any privately owned and operated detention facility that is not funded in whole or in part by taxes paid by the citizens of Lincoln.
c. It is hereby illegal for the Region of Lincoln or any local governments within Lincoln to grant any public money to for-profit prisons as outlined above.

3. Police Reform
a. All police officers in Lincoln are hereby required to wear functional body cameras during any encounter with the public.
b. Any officer who fails to wear a functional body camera during interactions with the public shall be subject to review overseen by an official in a statewide or regional Justice Department official. Officers who repeatedly fail to wear functional body cameras shall be subject to penalties including fines, imprisonment as determined by local judicial officials, and termination. No officer fired for failing to wear a functional body camera shall be rehired within Lincoln for a period of at least one (1) full calendar year.
c. Any officer who fires their duty weapon must immediately turn over body camera footage and file a detailed report indicating the circumstances and justification for such an action. These reports shall then be subject to review overseen by an official in the department itself as well as the regional Justice Department. Any officer found to have misled their department or the regional government shall be subject to termination. Any officer fired for misleading their department or the regional government shall be permanently barred from working as a law enforcement officer in Lincoln.
d. Qualified immunity is hereby banned in Lincoln. Any citizen of Lincoln may file suit against an officer or officers as well as their department for any perceived civil rights violation.
e. No victim of police violence shall be barred from suing any officer, officers, or department in the course of an investigation as outlined in section C.
f. Chokeholds or any method of restraining a suspect's ability to breathe are hereby banned in Lincoln.
g. Rubber bullets, tear gas, and any similar method of crowd dispersal are hereby banned in Lincoln unless declared lawful by the Governor of Lincoln, subject to approval from the Council, in times of great civil unrest where all other options of crowd containment and dispersal have been exhausted.
h. In the event of rubber bullets or tear gas being used as outlined above, no projectile shall be shot directly at a citizen under any circumstances. Any law enforcement officer found in violation of this ban shall be subject to imprisonment for assault with a deadly weapon or any charge found suitable by local prosecutors.
i. Police departments are hereby forbidden from purchasing or owning any weapons or equipment previously owned by military forces including tanks, body armor, high capacity assault weapons, tear gas, "flash bang" grenades, or any similar piece of equipment.
j. The use of high capacity assault weapons and body armor shall be legal for SWAT teams serving legal warrants.
k. "No-knock" warrants are hereby banned in Lincoln. This shall be defined as any law enforcement official serving a warrant without previously knocking and identifying themselves with the correct department first.
l. Any officer performing a welfare check in Lincoln shall first identify themselves with the correct department prior to entering any domicile and shall be barred from drawing their duty weapon prior to entering a domicile unless fired upon first. This provision is still subject to the details outlined in subsection c.

4. Implementation
a. This act shall take effect no later than two months after its passage or December 1st 2020, whichever comes first.
b. This act and all provisions herein shall be subject to amendment by the Council of Lincoln at any time if deemed necessary.

24 hours to object

[Sirius_]

Amendment proposal:

Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2020

1. Releasing Non-Violent Offenders From Prison
a. Any individual currently in prison in Lincoln for non-violent drug offenses such as possession or distribution of any narcotic or narcotic paraphernalia shall be released from prison no later than December 31st 2020 or earlier by the determination of local judicial review.
b. Any individual released from prison as outlined in the above section shall have their record expunged of any non-violent drug offenses.
c. Any individual whose right to vote was stripped due to felony convictions associated with the provisions outlined above shall have that right restored without fine or injunction.

2. Banning For-Profit Prisons
a. All for-profit prisons are hereby banned in Lincoln.
b. "For-profit prison" shall be defined as any privately owned and operated detention facility that is not funded in whole or in part by taxes paid by the citizens of Lincoln.
c. It is hereby illegal for the Region of Lincoln or any local governments within Lincoln to grant any public money to for-profit prisons as outlined above.

3. Police Reform
a. All police officers in Lincoln are hereby required to wear functional body cameras during any encounter with the public.
b. Any officer who fails to wear a functional body camera during interactions with the public shall be subject to review overseen by an official in a statewide or regional Justice Department official. Officers who repeatedly fail to wear functional body cameras shall be subject to penalties including fines, imprisonment as determined by local judicial officials, and termination. No officer fired for failing to wear a functional body camera shall be rehired within Lincoln for a period of at least one (1) full calendar year.
c. Any officer who fires their duty weapon must immediately turn over body camera footage and file a detailed report indicating the circumstances and justification for such an action. These reports shall then be subject to review overseen by an official in the department itself as well as the regional Justice Department. Any officer found to have misled their department or the regional government shall be subject to termination. Any officer fired for misleading their department or the regional government shall be permanently barred from working as a law enforcement officer in Lincoln.
d. Qualified immunity is hereby banned in Lincoln. Any citizen of Lincoln may file suit against an officer or officers as well as their department for any perceived civil rights violation.
e. No victim of police violence shall be barred from suing any officer, officers, or department in the course of an investigation as outlined in section C.
f. Chokeholds or any method of restraining a suspect's ability to breathe are hereby banned in Lincoln.
g. Rubber bullets, tear gas, and any similar method of crowd dispersal are hereby banned in Lincoln unless declared lawful by the Governor of Lincoln, subject to approval from the Council, in times of great civil unrest where all other options of crowd containment and dispersal have been exhausted.
h. In the event of rubber bullets or tear gas being used as outlined above, no projectile shall be shot directly at a citizen under any circumstances. Any law enforcement officer found in violation of this ban shall be subject to imprisonment for assault with a deadly weapon or any charge found suitable by local prosecutors.
i. Police departments are hereby forbidden from purchasing or owning any weapons or equipment previously owned by military forces including tanks, body armor, high capacity assault weapons, tear gas, "flash bang" grenades, or any similar piece of equipment.
j. The use of high capacity assault weapons and body armor shall be legal for SWAT teams serving legal warrants.
k. "No-knock" warrants are hereby banned in Lincoln. This shall be defined as any law enforcement official serving a warrant without previously knocking and identifying themselves with the correct department first.
l. Any officer performing a welfare check in Lincoln shall first identify themselves with the correct department prior to entering any domicile and shall be barred from drawing their duty weapon prior to entering a domicile unless fired upon first. This provision is still subject to the details outlined in subsection c.

4. Implementation
a. This act shall take effect no later than two months after its passage or December 1st 2020, whichever comes first.
b. This act and all provisions herein shall be subject to amendment by the Council of Lincoln at any time if deemed necessary.

Imo distribution should be considered a higher crime than possession, as distributors knowingly provide others with a harmful substance.

[S019]

No one objected, so my amendment is adopted. Also no objections from me to Ninja's amendment (declaring it friendly) and 24 hours to object.

[Lambsbread]

The 24 hour period has lapsed.

[S019]

Amendment adopted

[Brother Jonathan]

An amendment proposal:

Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2020

1. Releasing Non-Violent Offenders From Prison
a. Any individual currently in prison in Lincoln for non-violent drug offenses such as possession of any narcotic or narcotic paraphernalia shall be released from prison no later than December 31st 2020 or earlier by the determination of local judicial review.
b. Any individual released from prison as outlined in the above section shall have their record expunged of any non-violent drug offenses.
c. Any individual whose right to vote was stripped due to felony convictions associated with the provisions outlined above shall have that right restored without fine or injunction.
d. Any individual currently in prison in Lincoln for non-violent drug offenses shall instead be required to attend substance abuse counseling, including drug rehabilitation, for a period of at least 5 months. Repeat drug offenses shall result in being sent to a drug rehabilitation center for a period of at least 5 months. The goal at these centers shall be to get the individual off of dependence from the drug as well as counseling and not on punishment.

2. Banning For-Profit Prisons
a. All for-profit prisons are hereby banned in Lincoln.
b. "For-profit prison" shall be defined as any privately owned and operated detention facility that is not funded in whole or in part by taxes paid by the citizens of Lincoln.
c. It is hereby illegal for the Region of Lincoln or any local governments within Lincoln to grant any public money to for-profit prisons as outlined above.

3. Police Reform
a. All police officers in Lincoln are hereby required to wear functional body cameras during any encounter with the public.
b. Any officer who fails to wear a functional body camera during interactions with the public shall be subject to review overseen by an official in a statewide or regional Justice Department official. Officers who repeatedly fail to wear functional body cameras shall be subject to penalties including fines, imprisonment as determined by local judicial officials, and termination. No officer fired for failing to wear a functional body camera shall be rehired within Lincoln for a period of at least one (1) full calendar year.
c. Any officer who fires their duty weapon must immediately turn over body camera footage and file a detailed report indicating the circumstances and justification for such an action. These reports shall then be subject to review overseen by an official in the department itself as well as the regional Justice Department. Any officer found to have misled their department or the regional government shall be subject to termination. Any officer fired for misleading their department or the regional government shall be permanently barred from working as a law enforcement officer in Lincoln.
d. Qualified immunity is hereby banned in Lincoln. Any citizen of Lincoln may file suit against an officer or officers as well as their department for any perceived civil rights violation.
e. No victim of police violence shall be barred from suing any officer, officers, or department in the course of an investigation as outlined in section C.
f. Chokeholds or any method of restraining a suspect's ability to breathe are hereby banned in Lincoln.
g. Rubber bullets , tear gas, and any similar method of crowd dispersal are hereby banned in Lincoln. unless declared lawful by the Governor of Lincoln, subject to approval from the Council, in times of great civil unrest where all other options of crowd containment and dispersal have been exhausted.
h. In the event of rubber bullets or tear gas being used as outlined above, no projectile shall be shot directly at a citizen under any circumstances. Any law enforcement officer found in violation of this ban shall be subject to imprisonment for assault with a deadly weapon or any charge found suitable by local prosecutors.
i. Police departments are hereby forbidden from purchasing or owning any weapons or equipment previously owned by military forces including tanks, body armor, high capacity assault weapons, tear gas, "flash bang" grenades, or any similar piece of equipment.
j. The use of high capacity assault weapons and body armor shall be legal for SWAT teams serving legal warrants.
k. "No-knock" warrants are hereby banned in Lincoln. This shall be defined as any law enforcement official serving a warrant without previously knocking and identifying themselves with the correct department first.
l. Any officer performing a welfare check in Lincoln shall first identify themselves with the correct department prior to entering any domicile and shall be barred from drawing their duty weapon prior to entering a domicile unless fired upon first. This provision is still subject to the details outlined in subsection c.

4. Implementation
a. This act shall take effect no later than two months after its passage or December 1st 2020, whichever comes first.
b. This act and all provisions herein shall be subject to amendment by the Council of Lincoln at any time if deemed necessary.

In essence, it strengthen the prohibition on rubber bullets to a total ban, but allows for local police forces to retain tear gas for use when local conditions are grave enough. I understand the desire to create more uniform controls on tear gas usage, but local law enforcement (acting within the restraints the law still provides) should be able to deploy tear gas in response to local conditions. My concern is that the proposed system for approving the usage of such tools is far too cumbersome to be of any help in times of serious civil discord. My amendment seeks to remedy that.

[S019]

Objecting, rubber bullets are needed in important times and a lot of the other methods of crowd control are unnecessary in non-important times

vote is open on the amendment for 24 hours, please vote AYE, NAY, or ABSTAIN


NAY

Note: Changed my vote to NAY since I put this together quickly and thought I was voting on the objection, and it's legal since I changed it during the allotted time period.

[Brother Jonathan]

Aye

[S019]

Vote closed, amendment vote is tied to 1-1-0-3, the Governor shall break the tie


AYE: Brother Jonathan
NAY: S019
ABSTAIN:
NOT VOTING: cookiedamage, n1240, Ninja0428

[Lambsbread]

Nay

[Brother Jonathan]

Another amendment proposal. I don't want to jump the speaker on this one, but as we know the amendment has failed I figured I would at least put his out there:

Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2020

1. Releasing Non-Violent Offenders From Prison
a. Any individual currently in prison in Lincoln for non-violent drug offenses such as possession of any narcotic or narcotic paraphernalia shall be released from prison no later than December 31st 2020 or earlier by the determination of local judicial review.
b. Any individual released from prison as outlined in the above section shall have their record expunged of any non-violent drug offenses.
c. Any individual whose right to vote was stripped due to felony convictions associated with the provisions outlined above shall have that right restored without fine or injunction.
d. Any individual currently in prison in Lincoln for non-violent drug offenses shall instead be required to attend substance abuse counseling, including drug rehabilitation, for a period of at least 5 months. Repeat drug offenses shall result in being sent to a drug rehabilitation center for a period of at least 5 months. The goal at these centers shall be to get the individual off of dependence from the drug as well as counseling and not on punishment.

2. Banning For-Profit Prisons
a. All for-profit prisons are hereby banned in Lincoln.
b. "For-profit prison" shall be defined as any privately owned and operated detention facility that is not funded in whole or in part by taxes paid by the citizens of Lincoln.
c. It is hereby illegal for the Region of Lincoln or any local governments within Lincoln to grant any public money to for-profit prisons as outlined above.

3. Police Reform
a. All police officers in Lincoln are hereby required to wear functional body cameras during any encounter with the public.
b. Any officer who fails to wear a functional body camera during interactions with the public shall be subject to review overseen by an official in a statewide or regional Justice Department official. Officers who repeatedly fail to wear functional body cameras shall be subject to penalties including fines, imprisonment as determined by local judicial officials, and termination. No officer fired for failing to wear a functional body camera shall be rehired within Lincoln for a period of at least one (1) full calendar year.
c. Any officer who fires their duty weapon must immediately turn over body camera footage and file a detailed report indicating the circumstances and justification for such an action. These reports shall then be subject to review overseen by an official in the department itself as well as the regional Justice Department. Any officer found to have misled their department or the regional government shall be subject to termination. Any officer fired for misleading their department or the regional government shall be permanently barred from working as a law enforcement officer in Lincoln.
d. Qualified immunity is hereby banned in Lincoln. Any citizen of Lincoln may file suit against an officer or officers as well as their department for any perceived civil rights violation.
e. No victim of police violence shall be barred from suing any officer, officers, or department in the course of an investigation as outlined in section C.
f. Chokeholds or any method of restraining a suspect's ability to breathe are hereby banned in Lincoln.
g. Rubber bullets tear gas, and any similar method of crowd dispersal are hereby banned in Lincoln. unless declared lawful by the Governor of Lincoln, subject to approval from the Council, in times of great civil unrest where all other options of crowd containment and dispersal have been exhausted.
h. In the event of rubber bullets or tear gas, being used as outlined above, no projectile shall be shot directly at a citizen under any circumstances. Any law enforcement officer found in violation of this ban shall be subject to imprisonment for assault with a deadly weapon or any charge found suitable by local prosecutors.
i. Police departments are hereby forbidden from purchasing or owning any weapons or equipment previously owned by military forces including tanks, body armor, high capacity assault weapons, tear gas, "flash bang" grenades, or any similar piece of equipment.
j. The use of high capacity assault weapons and body armor shall be legal for SWAT teams serving legal warrants.
k. "No-knock" warrants are hereby banned in Lincoln. This shall be defined as any law enforcement official serving a warrant without previously knocking and identifying themselves with the correct department first.
l. Any officer performing a welfare check in Lincoln shall first identify themselves with the correct department prior to entering any domicile and shall be barred from drawing their duty weapon prior to entering a domicile unless fired upon first. This provision is still subject to the details outlined in subsection c.

4. Implementation
a. This act shall take effect no later than two months after its passage or December 1st 2020, whichever comes first.
b. This act and all provisions herein shall be subject to amendment by the Council of Lincoln at any time if deemed necessary.

This amendment addresses what I think are two of the bills major problems. One, it reserves the decision to use tear gas to local law enforcement, which I feel is imperative. I understand the desire to create more uniform standards of usage, and so I believe the language governing tear gas dispersal should remain in, but such heavy restrictions on tear gas will likely slow the response to civil disturbance. We don't want to create situations where small localized disturbances are allowed to grow, and see the police response unduly hamstrung by the need for approval from the regional government to use tear gas.

Second, I fear that the reference to "any similar method of crowd dispersal" is too vague to be actionable, and the entire bill might wither under judicial review as a result. If this amendment is adopted, we could then add in more concrete examples of such methods of crowd dispersal, but as it is, that particular language in the bill seems overbroad.

[S019]

Chances to clause h. are friendly, changes to clause g. are not friendly, thus I'm objecting to this amendment. Police don't really need to use tear gas except in times of emergency.


Vote on the amendment is open and will be open for 24 hours

NAY

[Brother Jonathan]

Aye

I would agree that police only need tear gas in times of emergency, but the system we have created to authorize its use is too cumbersome to allow for its effective deployment at all. It is better to leave the control of the use of tear gas to local government, so they can better respond to situations quickly, rather than seek to go through a cumbersome process that will in all likelihood never allow for the timely use of tear gas.

[S019]

Vote closed, amendment tied 1-1-0-3, Governor shall break the tie



AYE: Brother Jonathan
NAY: S019
ABSTAIN:
NOT VOTING: Ninja0428, n1240, cookiedamage

[Lambsbread]

Nay