The emergency police-reform legislation the D.C. Council passed unanimously last month will be delayed slightly, a spokesperson for Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen confirmed on Monday.
On Tuesday, what would have been Mayor Muriel Bowser’s final day to sign the legislation, the council is set to vote on a second version of the bill—which will repeal and replace the original—with a number of changes made in coordination with several councilmembers and Bowser’s office.
A representative for Bowser did not immediately respond to DCist’s request for comment on the changes.
The initial legislation, which came in the wake of large-scale protests against racial injustice and police violence following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, requires that body camera footage be made public more quickly after a police shooting, bans officers from using chokeholds, and prohibits the Metropolitan Police Department from buying military-style equipment from the federal government.
It also bans the department from using tear gas, rubber bullets, stun grenades, and riot gear to disperse peaceful protesters, among other reforms.
The new version of the bill is very similar, but extends the deadline to release body camera footage from 72 hours to five business days, due to the logistics of collecting and reviewing the footage, according to documents obtained by DCist.
It also removes the original bill’s restrictions around use of force (while preserving the restrictions around deadly use of force), and creates a process for next of kin to decline consent to release body camera footage, among other changes.
At-large Councilmember David Grosso will also introduce two amendments to the bill limiting D.C. police use of facial recognition technology, and prohibiting them from using cell-site simulators, also commonly known as Stingrays, which can trick cell phones into divulging locations and identifying information.
Erik Salmi, a spokesperson for Allen’s office, says that if the bill passes, it will likely make its way to the mayor’s desk “a lot faster” than the previous version, which took about two weeks, though he could not specify a timeline. Salmi says that’s because it is such a similar piece of legislation, and much of it has already gone through the review process.
The emergency legislation came as protesters called for major reforms, and urged Bowser and the D.C. Council to defund the police department.
However, last month, the council delayed shrinking the size of MPD after At-Large Councilmember David Grosso proposed capping the number of officers at 3,500.
In a letter to the council, Bowser said she supported efforts to reform the department, but was not on board with doing so via an emergency bill, which stays in effect for 90 days. “I urge the Council to allow a process where these issues can receive robust public discourse, which I believe will only help to increase community buy-in on any proposed reforms,” she wrote.
The bill also faced opposition from the D.C. Police Union, which said it would cause many officers to leave the department and lead to “a dangerous path to unchecked violence in the District.”
Later in the month, the council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety passed a $15 million reduction to MPD’s proposed 2021 budget, cutting vacant positions and a proposed expansion of the police cadet program.
However, the proposed cut would still result in an overall $9 million budget increase for the department (though Allen disputes this characterization).
This story has been updated to reflect Councilmember Allen’s contention that the proposed budget does not constitute an increase.
