Watch the press conference here.
Today Senator Warren Limmer (R- Maple Grove) laid out Senate Republican plans to pass several police accountability bills and reviewed several proposals, including some from the proposed by the DFL House Caucus for the one-week special session. The legislature convened today at noon, and the Senate intends to adjourn next Friday, June 19.
Bills covering law enforcement accountability will include:
- Require the reporting of use of deadly force to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
- Provide more support for law enforcement after a potentially traumatic experience to protect their mental health
- Ban chokeholds and neck restraints
Additionally, as Chair of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, Senator Limmer is introducing additional funding for on-going training on implicit bias, cultural diversity, and crisis response to help de-escalate situations. Finally, Limmer expressed openness to review the current police use of force statute and consider a “sanctity of life” standard before deadly force is deployed.
“The Senate is committed to passing several measures to improve the accountability of our law enforcement agencies, including some supported in a bipartisan manner by the House DFL caucus and Governor Walz,” said Limmer. “The focus of Minnesota is on law enforcement accountability right now and we are taking advantage of that with these bills. The package of bills is intended to attract bipartisan support and include good ideas from both sides of the aisle. More work can be done in the long-term on this important topic.”