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6/6/2024
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Sens. Acosta and Mack statement on LEOBOR vote
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STATE HOUSE – Sens. Jonathon Acosta (D-Dist. 16, Central Falls, Pawtucket) and Tiara Mack (D-Dist. 6, Providence), on behalf of the Rhode Island Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian-American and Pacific Islander Caucus (RIBLIA), are releasing the following statements concerning their votes today in the negative on the Law Enforcement Officers’ Due Process, Accountability and Transparency Act.
Senator Acosta introduced a floor amendment that failed to pass during today’s vote on the legislation.
“The RIBLIA Caucus was clear in what we needed to see within the LEOBOR reform bill in order to garner our support. Unfortunately, we feel that a key piece of reform is still missing within the legislation that passed and I was unable to support the bill that was before the Senate today. The floor amendment that I offered would have alleviated these concerns, but regrettably it was voted down. The simple fact of the matter is that if the George Floyd murder were to have happened in Rhode Island, unlike in Minneapolis where the offending officer was promptly fired the next day, the officer would still be employed and receiving benefits until the lengthy amount of time it would have taken for a criminal trial to conclude. This is unacceptable to us and why I voted against the bill,” said Senator Acosta, cochair of the RIBLIA Caucus.
“I voted against the Law Enforcement Officers’ Due Process, Accountability and Transparency Act today due to the fact that it would still allow law enforcement officers that have used deadly force, in violation of their departments policy, to remain employed until they were convicted of a crime. Police officers should be held to a higher standard than us all and any officer that takes a life in violation of department rules and regulations should not be allowed to serve in our communities or be paid with our tax dollars. I wish I could have voted in favor of this legislation, but without the provision offered by Senator Acosta, I could not in good conscience support the legislation,” said Senator Mack.
For more information, contact:
Andrew Caruolo, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-6124
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