Texas Senate Approves Bill Requiring Officers To Intervene If Another Officer's Actions Deemed Excessive
AUSTIN, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - In the wake of the Derek Chauvin murder conviction, the Texas Senate has approved two bills surrounding incidents involving law enforcement officers and their duties.
With a 31-0 vote, Senate bills 68 and 2212 were approved on Thursday and must now be approved by the Texas House before they can become law.
SB 68, authored by Borris Miles (D-Houston), requires that an officer intervene if he or she sees another officer using force that he or she believes to be excessive and would violate state or federal law.
Under SB 2212, authored by Royce West (D-Dallas), an officer would be required to request and render aid to a person who was injured during that officer's duties The officer would not be required to render aid if doing so would put that officer at risk.
The approvals come two days after Chauvin was found guilty of murder in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for around nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed. Three other officers who were at the scene of Floyd's death will be tried in August for aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
"The past few years have been both troubling and crucial to us as a society when we recall the number of deadly force incidents that have taken place across America," West said in a statement. "SB2212 and SB68 passed the Senate just days after many Americans acknowledged a collective sigh of relief following the guilty verdicts rendered in the Derek Chauvin case for his role in George Floyd's death."
"These bills today could mark a pivotal moment," West added. "They acknowledge that things are not quite as they should be when we look at how some citizens and communities are treated when they come in contact with some who are sworn to protect them."