Woonsocket Radio News Room

STATE HOUSE – The Senate today announced the appointment of a special legislative task force that will review and provide recommendations on policies pertaining to the Rhode Island Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights.

The task force, created by legislation sponsored by Sen. Harold M. Metts and approved by the Senate June 18, is to comprehensively study and provide recommendations on the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBOR), to ensure accountability and protection against misconduct. Adopted in Rhode Island in 1976, the LEOBOR protects officers accused of misconduct, preventing them from being immediately fired or put on leave without pay, and allowing their continued employment to be decided by a panel of other police officers. The law has been widely criticized by many who believe it prevents justice from being served when officers are abusive.

“Public safety officers are to protect public safety, and there should not be ways to prevent those who pervert justice from being held accountable,” said Senator Metts (D-Dist. 6, Providence), who will serve on the task force. “The black, brown and southeast Asian communities have long called for genuine reform of this law to protect our safety. While it shouldn’t take widely distributed videos of police brutality and murder, as well as worldwide protests, to finally bring about change, I’m hopeful that our call is finally too great to ignore.”

The 13-member task force will include:

·         Senator Metts

·         Sen. Cynthia A. Coyne (D-Dist. 32, Barrington, Bristol, East Providence)

·         Sen. Gordon E. Rogers (R-Dist. 21, Foster, Coventry, Scituate, West Greenwich)

·         Attorney General Peter F. Neronha

·         State Police Superintendent Col. James M. Manni

·         Providence Police Chief Col. Hugh T. Clements Jr.

·         Rhode Island Human Rights Commission Executive Director Michael Évora

·         NAACP Providence Branch President James Vincent

·         Anthony Capezza Jr., representing the Rhode Island AFL-CIO

·         Latino Policy Institute Director Marcela Betancur

·         Providence External Review Board Executive Director Jose F. Batista

·         Rev. Howard M. Jenkins Jr.

·         Rev. Chontell N. Washington

·        

The resolution creating the task force calls for it to study protection of the rights of residents, conduct and accountability responsibilities, police relations with racial and ethnic minority communities, police management, disciplinary procedures, enhanced training for cultural

The task force is expected to hold its first meeting in the coming weeks. The resolution creating it sets its reporting date as Feb. 9, 2021.

President Biden is signing a new foreign aid bill into law. On Tuesday, the Senate passed a 95-billion-dollar emergency foreign aid package, which included funding for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and the Indo-Pacific. The bill also laid the groundwork to ban the social media app TikTok in the U.S.        House Speaker Mike Johnson will meet with Jewish students at Columbia University today as the school faces massive protests against Israel's actions in the Palestinian territories. Hundreds of students have been protesting for days against the Biden administration's response to the Israel-Hamas war, calling for an end to support for Israel. Johnson's office says he plans to discuss what he sees as a "troubling rise of virulent antisemitism on America's college campuses."        The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing an abortion case for the first time since it overturned Roe v. Wade. Justices are hearing arguments in a case over whether Idaho's strict abortion restrictions conflict with a federal law requiring hospitals to provide patients emergency care. Idaho's law makes it a felony for physicians to perform most abortions except to save the life of the mother.        A former police officer accused of killing his ex-wife and underage girlfriend and then abducting his one-year-old child is dead following a pursuit with Oregon State Police. Authorities say Elias Huizar [[ WE'-zarr ]] died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound yesterday following a car chase that ended when Huizar crashed into a semi on an interstate south of Portland. The one-year-old boy in the car was unharmed and placed with child protective services.        Airlines will soon have to give refunds for canceled and excessively delayed flights. The Department of Transportation announced the rollout of the new rules Wednesday that call for automatic cash refunds if a flight is canceled or delayed for more than three hours or six hours for international flights. Refunds of checked bag fees will also be required if a passenger's luggage is lost and not returned within 12 hours.        Pearl Jam will headline two nights of Eddie Vedder's Ohana Festival in California this summer. Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Alanis Morissette, Garbage and Turnpike Troubadours are the other headliners of the three day festival. The festival will take place September 27th through the 29th at Doheney State Beach in Dana Point.        

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