Police Reform Bill Limits Chokeholds, Makes It Easier to Weed Out Bad Cops
(INDIANAPOLIS) A police reform bill could come to a vote in the Indiana House next week.
A House committee unanimously approved a bill classifying chokeholds as deadly force. That would limit their use to the same extreme circumstances as shooting someone, and subject it to the same scrutiny.
Avon Representative Greg Steuerwald’s (R) bill also requires the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy to include de-escalation training, and would make it easier to decertify officers with a record of violence. Current law allows the state to suspend an officer’s certification only if he’s convicted of a crime which indicates violent tendencies. Steuerwald’s bill would require a due-process hearing on charges that an officer is dangerous, but a criminal conviction wouldn’t be a prerequisite.
The bill would also establish a procedure for the law enforcement training board to decertify officers who commit misconduct, and would ease the sharing of officers’ employment records between police departments, thus helping to identify “bad actors” and keep them from moving jobs.
A bipartisan bill aimed at increasing police accountability and enacting criminal justice reform received early support from Indiana's legislators, law enforcement leaders and community groups Tuesday, following calls for action from the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus.
Rogue police officers could be more easily identified and rooted out under a bill passed unanimously by the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee Tuesday.
ANGOLA â A face familiar to many in Angola is now leading Campus Safety at Trine University.
Stuart Hamblen, who retired as chief of police of Angola in December and had been part of the cityâs police department for nearly 30 years, began as director of campus safety at Trine on Jan. 4.
In addition to his extensive police experience, Hamblen said he looks forward to providing positive leadership to Trineâs Campus Safety team and bringing extensive training he has received in emergency management to his new role. He has served in leadership roles for several exercises conducted by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security Training and Preparedness Division, and received training in areas including disaster recovery in rural communities.