LEOBOR reform is long overdue. Why the General Assembly needs to act | Opinion

Andrew Dunphy is a retired federal agent and a second-year law student at Roger Williams University School of Law.  He is a fellow with the American Bar Association Police Practices Consortium.

Two recent cases involving police officers should cause state legislators to question whether the Rhode Island Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights adequately serves its citizens. LEOBOR affords protections to officers accused of misconduct on duty, and at least 20 other states have versions of it. 

The Rhode Island LEOBOR, among other provisions, limits how police misconduct information can be shared with the public and affords officers a hearing before a panel of active or retired police officers before any discipline greater than a two-day unpaid suspension can be imposed.  Proponents view LEOBOR as necessary because of the stressful, split-second decisions officers are forced to make and the high stakes of those decisions. Critics say it shields police from accountability, protects them from meaningful discipline and places unnecessary restrictions on release of public information. Two recent Rhode Island cases exemplify their concerns.

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In 2018, a Woonsocket police officer was charged in Massachusetts with breaking and entering and assault with a dangerous weapon.  In Massachusetts court, the officer admitted to the facts underlying those offenses. The court continued his case for a year, after which it agreed to drop the charges. Soon after the officer made his admissions in court, the City of Woonsocket terminated him. He appealed the termination, the panel of active and retired police officers sided with him, and a Rhode Island court found that Woonsocket violated the LEOBOR.  In November 2023, the Woonsocket City Council agreed to pay the officer $500,000 to settle his legal claims against the city. 

In 2021, an off-duty Pawtucket officer in his personal vehicle saw a teen speeding and followed him into a parking lot to have a “fatherly chat.”  Not in uniform, the officer approached the vehicle with his weapon drawn. Afraid of an unknown man approaching with a gun, the teen backed away and allegedly bumped the officer with his car. The officer fired his weapon and struck the teen in the shoulder. Charged with assault with a deadly weapon, the officer testified during his trial that he fired in self-defense, and he was acquitted.  Assistant Attorney General John Corrigan said the officer “was lying through his teeth” when he said he shot in self-defense. 

In November 2023, the officer resigned from the Pawtucket Police Department as part of a negotiated settlement after the city paid him nearly $124,000.  Acknowledging how unfair the decision appeared, Mayor Donald G. Grebien lamented that “going to LEOBOR” would likely have cost the city substantially more.

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A number of other states are wrestling with the efficacy of LEOBOR laws.  In 2021, Maryland became the first state to repeal its LEOBOR statute.  Amid promises of LEOBOR reform, a proposal wound its way through the Rhode Island General Assembly early in 2023. Thought sensible reform by many, the bill nevertheless died in the House in June.

Law enforcement officers across the country serve honorably every day in an often dangerous and unpredictable environment. Mistakes can occur, and well-intentioned officers deserve protection. However, those who engage in criminal behavior are a blight on the profession and a danger to society.  When LEOBOR protects them instead of holding them accountable, it has failed. 

It’s time for the General Assembly to stop talking about LEOBOR reform and instead act on it.