The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony yesterday for a law that would require law enforcement officers to get extra training in life-saving techniques.
The bill also calls for training on cultural sensitivity and proper use of force. About two dozen people showed up to support the bill they’re calling Christopher’s Law. Del. Jill Carter proposed the legislation.
The bill is named for Christopher Brown. The Randallstown teenager died of asphyxiation in 2012 after an off-duty police officer put him in a choke hold. Brown’s mother, Chris, told lawmakers that officers should have the skills to resuscitate people like her son. “No other person should die like this,” she said. “There should be nobody, especially not a youth, that should be robbed of their life just because a technique was not learned.”
The bill also requires teaching officers how best to deal with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who tend to have more frequent interactions with law enforcement and can often turn deadly if officers don't know how best to interact with them.
Representatives from law enforcement agencies opposed the bill. They said law enforcement already gets training in these areas. They urged lawmakers to not consider new training mandates for law enforcement until next year when a Governor’s committee studying better police procedures for dealing with people with disabilities is expected to return its recommendations.
