The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was facing at least 17 misconduct complaints at the time, has reignited calls for police accountability throughout the country.
Police abuse is disproportionately killing and wrongfully convicting Black and brown people. Shining a light on officer disciplinary histories is the first step in stopping misconduct.
We saw New York take a big step forward last month when Governor Cuomo repealed 50-a, which kept police misconduct records from the public.
Now, New Jersey is considering new legislation, Senate Bill 2656, that would make information about officer misconduct available under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act.
The Innocence Project exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. www.innocenceproject.org
