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[Pages H3051-H3052]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
POLICE REFORM
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2019, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) is
recognized for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the
minority leader.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about the very
important topic of police reform and qualified immunity.
Last week, I joined my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in
voting in favor of the Justice in Policing Act, a bill that the
National Fraternal Order of Police said, ``we believe, after good-faith
discussions, will create a law that will have a positive impact on law
enforcement and policing in our country.''
My Republican colleagues who voted in favor of this bill did so
because we must move the legislative process and negotiations forward
so we can begin to repair the social contract again between our police
officers around the nation and the communities that they serve.
That being said, we believe that the qualified immunity provision in
the bill, as it is currently drafted, must be fixed so that we can
ensure that we protect our hero police officers both from physical harm
and potentially frivolous lawsuits.
Qualified immunity is a judicially created doctrine that grants
government officials who are performing discretionary functions
immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official
violated clearly established statutory or constitutional rights that a
reasonable person would have been aware of.
Madam Speaker, to put it simply, qualified immunity states that if an
officer acts in good faith and is doing what he or she believes is in
line with their responsibilities of being a police officer, then they
are protected from personal liability.
While I believe that qualified immunity is a very important doctrine,
it should be reformed but not abolished. There must be reforms that
address personal responsibility, accountability, and transparency in
law enforcement, no doubt. However, the Justice in Policing Act
includes a provision on qualified immunity that must be amended in
conference committee prior to final passage. I, for one, will be
insisting on that prior to any bill being sent to the President's desk.
Madam Speaker, as it currently stands, this provision would specify
that a defendant is not immune from lawsuits just because they were
acting in a way that they thought was reasonable or lawful at the time
or because they were not violating a clearly established law.
The overwhelming majority of our Nation's police officers conduct
themselves responsibly, appropriately, and within the confines of the
law. Madam Speaker, I know this because I was one myself. We must
reform qualified immunity to allow our police officers to act in a way
they need to to perform their jobs while also removing protections that
would shield those who illegally deny citizens of the rights given to
them by the United States Constitution.
Having served as a lifelong Federal law enforcement agent and a
Federal prosecutor, I will be playing an active role in bridging this
gap and bringing
[[Page H3052]]
our law enforcement officials in our communities together, as will my
Republican colleagues who voted in favor, as we move to conference
committee to merge the Senate and House proposals into one bill that
works for everybody and protects our police officers.
I will insist that the final package be written in a way that both
protects citizens' constitutional and civil rights and preserves the
noble profession of law enforcement--the profession that I have
dedicated the majority of my adult life to, the profession that my
great-uncle Phil sacrificed his life and paid the ultimate price for
having been killed in the line of duty as an NYPD police officer.
Madam Speaker, this moment calls on all of us to come together and
repair this social contract so that we as Americans can start to heal.
I firmly believe that we are all capable of rising to this challenge
because my own community in Bucks and Montgomery Counties in
Pennsylvania has been a model when it comes to police-community
relations.
We need to apply the community model of my amazing colleagues back
home in law enforcement, always making improvements based on self-
reflection, listening, understanding, and learning, and show the rest
of our Nation and the world that we are a country of law and order, a
country that respects the rights, dignity, and equality of every single
individual, and a country where police officers are one with the
communities in which they serve, which is certainly the case back home.
I am so proud of our law enforcement officers. We have a chance at
real positive change, Madam Speaker. Let us not miss this moment. We
can support our law enforcement officers and enact meaningful reform.
I, for one, will be insisting on both before any final bill goes to the
President's desk.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________