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Several Measures Move Forward, But Qualified Immunity Bill Voted Down in House

A suite of policing reform bills moved out of the state House Friday. But, a measure allowing civilians to sue on-duty officers for misconduct wasn’t one of them.

Opposition came from members on both sides of the aisle. Republican Delegate Jason Miyares was among those who said the bill would have negative consequences.

“The problem we want to solve is we want to get rid of bad cops," he said. "All of us have that desire. I think my concerns about this bill is that it’s going to have the unintended consequences of hurting the good cops.”

Miyares said he’s been inundated with feedback from officers who fear that limiting qualified immunity would make their job harder and more dangerous.

Delegate Jay Jones invoked the words of Abraham Lincoln, asking his colleagues to do better. Then he made this final plea.

“I know that we talk a lot about empathy in this chamber and in this body and I think this is one of those moments when everybody should think about how deep is your well of empathy,” said Jones.

Several Democrats voted against the measure or abstained from voting.

House lawmakers did move other reform bills to the Senate. That includes proposed bans on no-knock warrants, police chokeholds and vehicle searches during traffic stops based on an officer’s claim that they smell marijuana.

Lawmakers also moved to adopt standards for officer training and decertification.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.