VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — As the General Assembly session continues in Richmond, News 3 is hearing from one of the Virginia lawmakers behind a bill that has raised concern from the Virginia NAACP.
That bill would offer law enforcement officers some protection from prosecutors.
“This provides a process," Virginia state Sen. Bill DeSteph said about the bill.
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A process built around transparency is how DeSteph describes Senate Bill 1274.
He is one of three state lawmakers who introduced the bill. The Virginia Beach lawmaker said it helps officers placed on a list by prosecutors—those believed to have given inconsistent witness statements in a case.
DeSteph said that list calls into question an officer's credibility.
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“It allows an officer to A, find out that he has been put on this list and B, allows him the opportunity to challenge it or question it," DeSteph explained. “I wish no prosecutor ever put anyone on a list unless they could truly back it up and show that it truly was the fact. But we just want to make sure it stops what some would consider retaliatory action against a police officer.”
News 3 reached out to the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police for reaction. While they support having a process in place, they still have questions about the bill.
“We want to ensure that it doesn’t negatively impact the process of decertification. As an organization, we’ve worked really hard over the last few years to shore up that legislation so that when we decertify an officer who has no business wearing this badge, it’s upheld," Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police Executive Board Member Mike Kochis said.
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Rev. Cozy Bailey, president of the NAACP Virginia State Conference, worries that the bill could protect bad officers.
“There are also provisions in there that not only give the notification that the senator was talking about, but prevent the actual actions that commonwealth attorneys may or may not take," Bailey said.
DeSteph argues that the bill will not prevent commonwealth attorneys from holding an officer accountable or make it harder for them to do so.
As of Tuesday, the bill has been referred to a Senate committee for review.
