Judiciary committee hears hours of testimony on HB202, a bill to create pretrial immunity review for officers

The Alabama House Judiciary Committee on Thursday heard more than three hours of public testimony on House Bill 202, a substitute measure that would revise the state's use-of-force law for law enforcement and create a pretrial immunity hearing for officers accused of criminal conduct.

Representative Reynolds, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure “would provide for law enforcement officer is justified in and immune from criminal prosecution for use of force against a person and in the performance of conduct within his or her discretionary authority unless the use of force violates the person's constitutional right to be free from that excessive force.” He said the substitute updates Alabama Code 13-3-27 “to make it consistent with the federal constitutional standards and set a rule.”

Supporters — including the Alabama Sheriff's Association and several rank-and-file law enforcement representatives in the hearing room — said the substitute will give clarity to officers and speed resolution of cases. Shubhie Hossmack, executive director of the Alabama Sheriff's Association, told the panel, “What this legislation really does is it clarifies a lot of existing law, and it brings the clarity.…