[ad_1]
Gov. Phil Scott on Thursday signed legislation clarifying current statute to explicitly allow Vermont police officers to use chokeholds for self-defense and in life-threatening situations.
In 2020, after police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis, Scott signed a policing reform bill that made it a crime for cops to use certain restraint techniques, such as chokeholds, that can cause injury or death.
The Vermont Department of Public Safety was assigned to put together a training policy for the new use-of-force restrictions and report back to the Legislature.
While working on the policy, law enforcement officials decided to ask legislators to amend the chokehold ban to make it clear that police can use chokeholds to defend themselves in life-and-death situations.
The new bill, H.145, moved swiftly through the Legislature, and Scott was initially expected to sign it.
On Tuesday, however, he sent an urgent letter to legislative leadership expressing a concern with the measure. Scott’s issue was not with the chokehold clarification itself; he wrote that lawmakers had done “an excellent job making the clarifying changes needed regarding law enforcement use of force.”
Instead, the governor was perturbed by a proposed change to the state’s justifiable homicide statute. That law makes clear when an individual can kill or wound a person legally under certain circumstances, including self-defense.
In H.145, the Legislature moved to tweak the statute to try to ensure that it could not be used as a defense in circumstances similar to when two men shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery as he was jogging in Glynn County, Georgia.
Scott asked for the Legislature’s written assurance that the change to the justifiable homicide statute would not make it a crime for citizens to come to the aid of others and defend themselves.
“The result of this change is to potentially make someone into a criminal for stepping up to protect the victim of a violent crime, if they injure or kill the attacker,” Scott wrote in the letter. “If that is the case, the Legislature should act to correct this oversight.”
The Republican governor’s reading of the legislation closely mirrored the National Rifle Association’s opinion of the bill. On May 7, the NRA issued a message to its members calling on Scott to veto the bill over the issue of self-defense.
On Wednesday, Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, who chairs the Senate Committee on Judiciary, and Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown, the head of the House Committee on Judiciary, responded to the governor with a letter explaining that H.145 does not eliminate or limit other longstanding laws that protect a person’s right to self-defense or efforts to protect others.
That was apparently enough for Scott, who signed the bill the next day.
Stay on top of all of Vermont’s criminal justice news. Sign up here to get a weekly email with all of VTDigger’s reporting on courts and crime.
[ad_2]
Source link
878682 938331I gotta bookmark this site it seems very beneficial . 296206
989160 472415This really is fantastic content. Youve loaded this with useful, informative content that any reader can realize. I enjoy reading articles that are so really well-written. 462890
42771 281214Aw, this was a really good post. In thought I want to put in writing like this moreover ?taking time and actual effort to make a really excellent post?however what can I say?I procrastinate alot and definitely not appear to get 1 thing done. 276524
290140 740300Awesome post , Im going to spend more time researching this subject 996615
163258 935332Just wanna input that you have a really good site , I enjoy the pattern it really stands out. 870970
111058 285413Glad to be 1 of several visitors on this awing website : D. 676972
722399 483470I adore foregathering valuable info, this post has got me even much more information! . 627258
282792 919375Thanks for the post. I like your writing style – Im trying to start a blog myself, I believe I may well read thru all your posts for some suggestions! Thanks once a lot more. 746221
225413 171230Greetings! This is my initial comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I genuinely enjoy reading via your weblog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same topics? Thank you so a lot! 614145
251302 526659Interested in start up a online business on line denotes revealing your service also providers not only to humans within your town, nevertheless , to numerous future prospects which are cyberspace on numerous occasions. pays day-to-day 267630
251706 945323Discovered your weblog and decided to have a study on it, not what I usually do, but this blog is amazing. Awesome to see a web site thats not spammed, and in fact makes some sense. Anyway, wonderful write up. 3259
924068 393165Excellent job on this post! I truly like how you presented your facts and how you produced it interesting and effortless to realize. Thank you. 410501
28390 364187Quite clear web site , regards for this post. 306014
797971 344798I agree with your points , great post. 603626
596234 931182Some genuinely nice and utilitarian info on this web web site , likewise I believe the style and style contains superb features. 854635
114476 565443Delighted for you to discovered this web site write-up, My group is shopping far more often than not regarding this. This can be at this moment undoubtedly what I are already seeking and I own book-marked this specific website online far too, Ill often be maintain returning soon enough to look at on your special weblog post. 598990
687614 198762Hmm is anyone else having difficulties with the images on this weblog loading? Im trying to figure out if its a problem on my finish or if it is the weblog. Any responses would be greatly appreciated. 66768
940077 382244Over and more than again I think about these issue. As a matter of fact it was not even yesterday that I last thought about it. To be honest, what is your thought though? 815035
123846 640284If you are still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Best Buy and ask to plug them into a Zune then an iPod and see which one sounds far better to you, and which interface makes you smile much more. Then you will know which is appropriate for you. 484536
73611 192072Youd superb suggestions there. I did a research about the concern and identified that likely almost anyone will agree together with your web page. 551210