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Rising Sun police chief flags state bills requiring independent investigations and biennial psychological exams
Summary
Police Chief Almond told the board that the transcript-referenced HB 600 will require independent state investigations of police-involved fatalities/shootings and HB 670 will require psychological exams every two years for officers, with local costs estimated at $500–$600 per officer; he warned municipalities will have limited input on county-level disciplinary review bodies.
Chief Almond briefed the board on state-level police reform measures that he said will soon affect every local law-enforcement agency. He described one bill (identified in the meeting as HB 600) as requiring an independent segment of the attorney general's office to investigate any police-involved fatality or shooting. "That will be in place and ... all agencies in the state will be a part of that," he said.
He also cited another bill (identified in the meeting as HB 670) that he said will require law-enforcement officers to undergo a psychological exam every two years. "We're looking at a cost of about, dollars 500 to $600 per officer to... have that done," Chief Almond said, adding the bill does not provide funding for that requirement and that municipalities will need to budget for it.
Chief Almond told the board that a county-level accountability board and a discipline review board will be created (he said that the accountability board is scheduled for creation in July 2022 in his remarks), and that municipalities would have no input on disciplinary matters involving town personnel under the structure he described. He noted these are changes municipal leaders should review and prepare for.
The board did not take formal action on these items during the meeting. The chief indicated he will return with more information at a future session.
