NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Lawmakers in New Mexico are pushing a bill that would change how officers use physical force. Senate Bill 252 is being called the Law Enforcement Officer Procedures Act. It’s aimed at holding officers and departments accountable and building safe standards of interaction.
The bill would create a standard for law enforcement in New Mexico, changing how officers handle situations before they end up deadly. Senator Harold Pope Jr. says the the use-of-force policies they are trying to get rid of are techniques that have already seen complaints, like chokeholds or any tactic used to block an airway. Pope Jr. says he also would want to see officers in the field hold their team accountable.
The goal of the bill is to get officers to de-escalate the situation first, when possible, and use less deadly options to take suspects into custody. Pope Jr. says the Albuquerque Police Department and Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office already implemented some rules laid out in the bill, but he wants to see it implemented statewide.
