Governor Ratf%$# Veto of Police Reform Package Overridden

I've never been a fan of Maryland Governor Paul Hogan.

It's not just his being a Republican, nor his no new tax pledge, which prevents meaningful improvements in state government, it's his not-so-subtle appeals to racism, whether it's his opposition to services going to Baltimore City and PG County, and now, his veto of the repeal of the so-called "Police Bill of Rights," which gave police officers extraordinary legal protections not afforded to the general population.

Well, the Maryland legislature has had enough of his crap, and overridden his veto of much needed police accountability legislation.

Let me be clear, I am explicitly stating that his motivation here is hostility to minorities for electoral advantage:

Brushing aside vetoes from Gov. Larry Hogan, Maryland legislators on Saturday passed a landmark police reform package into law that supporters hailed as a major step toward transforming policing in the state.

Hogan, a Republican, contended that central provisions of the sweeping four-part Maryland Police Accountability Act go too far and will treat police officers unfairly. He vetoed three bills Friday evening containing those sections.

But Democrats swiftly overruled his objections. By Saturday afternoon, the Democrat-controlled General Assembly had voted to override the vetoes. The first provisions of the Maryland Police Accountability Act will take effect later this year.

The legislation will overhaul the disciplinary process for officers accused of misconduct, allow public scrutiny of complaints and internal affairs files, and create a new legal standard requiring that police use only “necessary” and “proportional” force. Officers who use excessive force will face additional criminal penalties, including up to 10 years in prison. Also, police will be limited on when they can obtain so-called “no-knock” warrants or raid homes at night.

………

Under one of the bills passed Saturday over Hogan’s veto, complaints against officers — even those rejected by internal affairs investigators as baseless — will become public records and subject to potential release. Supporters like Carter have argued that’s essential to pulling back a veil of secrecy over police discipline and making sure agencies hold officers accountable for misconduct.

Critics, including police unions and many Republican lawmakers, feared the transparency measure will end up smearing the reputations of officers by airing baseless complaints. Sen. Robert Cassilly, a Harford County Republican, accused Democrats of “anti-police animus” in passing the legislation. 

………

Among other far-reaching provisions passed over Hogan’s veto is the repeal of Maryland’s Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights, a 1974 law that guarantees job protections and due process rights for officers accused of wrongdoing that critics have long alleged shields officers from accountability and has been among the biggest impediments to reform. Maryland was the first state in the nation to pass such a law, which dozens of others have copied, and now is the first state to repeal it.

The LEBOR provisions were things like requiring a 5 day waiting period before investigators could talk to a police officer (time for them the coordinate their lies), and the purging of complaints after a time.

These were horrible ideas then, and worse ideas now.