Governor Ralph Northam is now considering dozens of bills lawmakers sent him during a special session on coronavirus and criminal justice reform.
The militarization of police departments across the country has been a growing concern for years, and now that Democrats are in control of the General Assembly they're taking action to limit the use of some of that equipment, although the details of how that it’ll work and what kind of loopholes exist have yet to be worked out.
Delegate Dan Helmer is a combat vet who now represents Fairfax County. He introduced a bill to create new limitations for police agencies on military-grade rubber bullets and tear gas.
"This bill establishes that use of force standard that says, ‘Hey, this is an important tool in the toolkit for our police. But like any tool it should have an appropriate use, and that appropriate use is to prevent injury or loss of life,’" he explains.
Claire Gastanaga at the ACLU of Virginia says the language the governor is now considering would prohibit the use of rubber bullets and tear gas unless it's necessary to use them.
"A police person would be able to have a rubber bullet in their gun," says Gastanaga. "They would be able to have the equipment present at any event including a peaceful protest, and they would be able to fire it at people at any time they could say that it was necessary to protect themselves or another person from bodily injury."
The governor could amend the bill any way he sees fit. Lawmakers will be meeting again after the election to consider his amendments.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
