The Virginia House and Senate advanced policing reform bills over the past two days that likely will wind up in a joint conference committee to work out a compromise on the bills’ language.
During the ongoing legislative special session, both chambers have passed their own versions of policing reform bills, including a ban on no-knock raids, a ban on chokeholds, reform on civilian review boards, restrictions on police acquisition of military property and heightened training requirements for police, among other things.
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Although both chambers agree on the essence of these bills, some of the specifics on how to approach the reforms have led to disagreements.
The Senate passed Friday a substitute version of House Bill 5099, which would require police to clearly and audibly identify themselves as police before executing a search warrant and to execute warrants in the daytime unless a judge (or magistrate if a judge is not available) signs off on a nighttime raid after proper cause is shown. The requirement to provide notice would not apply to other warrants or other police activities.
Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, proposed a floor amendment to mirror the language in a House version of the bill that would have required officers to wait 30 seconds after announcing themselves to enter the place in which the warrants are to be executed. Locke later withdrew the amendment.
The House advanced a version of the legislation Friday that included the 30-second requirement.
In both chambers, a prohibition on no-knock warrants is generally supported by Democrats and opposed by Republicans. Even without Locke’s substitute, the ban on no-knock warrants failed to get Republican support.
Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, said Democratic lawmakers are seeking to substitute their own judgement with the judgement of the officers who ultimately should be making this decision. He said lawmakers are suggesting wrongly that there is only one appropriate response in all circumstances.
Defending the bill, Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, said the bill would make everyone safer. Under castle doctrine, he said a person is allowed to shoot at a person who is breaking into his house if he reasonably believes those breaking in may severely harm or kill him. In a scenario in which a person does not know that those entering are officers, he might be justified in opening fire.
“At the end of the day, this will probably result in safer situations for everyone involved,” Surovell said.
The two chambers also failed to agree on legislation regarding civilian oversight boards of police departments. The House rejected a Senate substitute of their legislation Friday.
The House version of the bill would require localities to establish these boards, and the Senate substitute gives localities the option to establish them.
