House of Delegates members eat boxed lunches on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Va. in April 2020.

Bob Brown / AP Photo

The Virginia House of Delegates voted Tuesday to eliminate qualified immunity from police facing claims of misconduct. This vote, the latest in a series of Democratic-led bills to overhaul policing, set off alarm bells among critics who say the measures will weaken law enforcement.

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that shields government officials from being held personally liable for constitutional violations, so long as the official did not violate “clearly established” law. The new legislation would eliminate this protection from law enforcement officers accused of wrongdoing.

The bill to end qualified immunity for police initially failed the House, but lawmakers reconsidered it Tuesday and narrowly passed it on a 49-45 vote. Del Kaye Kory (D-Falls Church) explained that she switched her vote from no to yes despite “concerns about the bill” because she wanted to ensure that “Virginians who have endured violations of their civil rights by law enforcement are able to seek justice from the courts.”

A second bill that passed Tuesday would empower the state Attorney General to investigate any pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement that might deprive people of “rights, privileges or immunities secured or protected” by U.S. and Virginia law. This bill also removes disciplinary action from police union negotiations. It passed the House on party lines with a 55-43 vote.

Democratic House Speaker Eileen Filler Corn (D-Fairfax) praised the bills.

“Today, the House of Delegates made significant strides in improving accountability and transparency throughout policing and our criminal justice system,” she said in a statement.

Republicans did not issue a statement, but delegates voted against the bill. Speaking about the bill last week, Del. Jason Miyares (R-Virginia Beach) said it would make recruiting law enforcement officers a challenge and divert attention and resources from training.

“The good cops are all going to leave,” Miyares said. “Because if they’re going to stay in the job … the liability exposure is just going to be enormous.”

The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police sounded the alarm as the bill ending qualified immunity makes its way to the other house of the legislature. “CONTACT YOUR SENATORS TO VOTE NO!” the group tweeted Tuesday.

Tuesday’s bills were the latest in a raft of new police legislation making its way through the General Assembly.

Last week the House passed bills mostly on party lines to ban no-knock search warrants and to prohibit chokeholds such as the one that killed George Floyd. House Democrats also passed bills that require officers to report their colleagues’ bad behavior and to intervene to stop another officer‘s excessive use of force. Another bill that passed would classify as hate crimes false 911 calls and police reports that were made on the basis of race, gender, religion, or other discriminatory qualities.

On Friday, House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) wrote in a statement that Democrats were endangering law enforcement.

“Officers should be able to use neck restraint if they’re in a fight for their lives. Banning every use of a no-knock warrant will end in more dead police and more dead suspects,” Gilbert wrote. “If these laws take effect, our Commonwealth will be less safe, and more police officers will lose their lives.”

The only House bill on policing that garnered unanimous, bipartisan support barred sexual relations between law enforcement and people in their custody.

The Virginia Senate, which Democrats also control, is advancing police changes as well.

In August, the state Senate voted to eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing for assault against law enforcement officers. The Senate also voted to limit the number of reasons law enforcement can pull drivers over, and bars officers from searching a car based solely on the smell of marijuana.

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