Salt Lake County District Attorney: Officer Intervention Release

Salt Lake City UT

21 March, 2022

7:49 PM

Description

Press release from Salt Lake County District Attorney: March 18, 2022 "This bill by Senator Jani Iwamoto is the culmination of almost two years of work and collaboration between the DA Office, Utah chiefs of police, sheriffs, law enforcement supervisors and line officer representatives, and community interest groups including the ACLU of Utah, the NAACP, and the Utah chapter of Black Lives Matter. The bill represents a potential sea change in the willingness and ability of police officers and employees to intervene and report, without fear of retaliation, whenever they observe co-worker conduct they believe is wrong—whether due to inexperience, mistake, training, or intent. Importantly, SB126 covers not just acts of excessive force, but also illegal searches and arrests and discriminatory actions by law enforcement. This legislation will better enable supervisors to discover and react to possible improprieties early on, in order to stop problematic behaviors before those few misbehaving officers can cause injury to our residents and to the reputations of thousands of excellent law enforcement officers across Utah who serve the public with honor and dignity every day. "In short, congratulations is due to Senator Iwamoto, to law enforcement, and to all Utahns today with the passage of SB126. Now on to the Governor."- Salt Lake County DA Sim Gill This press release was produced by Salt Lake County District Attorney. The views expressed here are the author's own.