Riots Apparently Really Do Work
A few days into the Floyd riots/protests, I made a few predictions regarding the effects of the rioting and their impact on policy. I also highlighted how Ferguson was also effective in instigating policy changes. In the last year there has been a lot of movement in other policy areas, and I'll just highlight how Qualified Immunity has been rolled back in a number of states and in NYC. Cops have been held personally liable for violating people's civil rights since the passage of §1983 way back in in 1871 with the passage of the Ku Klux Klan Act. It wasn't until the 1960s and 1980s (depending on how you count) that courts found a massive exception in the form of QI, where cops must violate a "clearly established right" before they can be found liable. QI has shielded an inordinate amount of egregious conduct from police since then. Thus far, New Mexico, Colorado, Connecticut, and now also New York City have all abolished QI for police. There was virtually no movement in this area until the 2020 protests, so it seems fair to say that this reform would not have happened without them.
It's interesting to see how NYPD has responded to the disappearance of QI. Their union has issued legal guidance to its members. This has not been released publicly, but a copy was acquired, and its existence is corroborated on the union's website. Some highlights:
we advise that you proceed with caution when taking any police action which could lead to physical engagement with any person, and avoid physical engagement to the greatest extent possible while also assuring your own safety and the safety of others. Also, you are strongly cautioned against engaging in any stop & frisk (unless doing so for your own or others' safety), search of a car, residence, or person *unless you are certain that you are clearly and unequivocally within the bounds of the law"
I think it reflects extremely poorly that it requires legislative changes for cops to be advised that they should proceed with caution and that they must be sure what they're doing is legal. I also think it's very unfortunate that it requires widespread civic unrest for this to happen.
Sadly, there remains little momentum on this issue at the federal level. The main piece of action was with Republican Representative Tim Scott, and his proposed bill was insultingly pathetic. It didn't do anything about Qualified Immunity (and Scott was on record claiming ending QI would be untenable because it would piss off too many cops, who generally vote Republican), and instead it just offered up a bunch of weak provisions conditioned on federal funding (yes, it's super important to make sure that it's illegal for cops to have sex with someone in custody), and requested that a commission study various issues and maybe they'll deal with them later. All else being equal, Scott's bill would have been better than nothing, but I saw it as a cynical ploy to derail momentum by claiming that they're "doing something" about police abuse.
The Democrat's proposal was better, but still fairly modest overall, and it certainly would not have resolved the issue for me. At the very least, it would have ended QI and I don't see any meaningful reform happening until then, but I'm glad to see states and localities actually take up the vanguard on this issue.