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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
05/19/2024 05:52 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20230&cosponId=42321
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House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: March 19, 2024 11:48 AM
From: Representative Emily Kinkead and Rep. Joseph C. Hohenstein, Rep. Napoleon J. Nelson
To: All House members
Subject: Reforming the Municipal Officer’s Education & Training Commission (MPOETC)
 
We’ve all heard the stories… Sandra Bland, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castille, George Floyd, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant, Terrence Crutcher, Trayvon Martin, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, Alton Sterling. And Pennsylvania is not immune. The East Pittsburgh police officer who killed Antwon Rose II had transferred to that department after having several misconduct violations at other police departments. The officer who killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice while he was playing with a toy gun in a park was subsequently hired by a local department here in Pennsylvania.

The Municipal Police Officer’s Education & Training Commission (MPOETC) was created in 1974 to establish both training and certification standards for municipal police officers in Pennsylvania. The Commission is composed of a twenty-member body – some members who serve by virtue of their office; others are appointed by the General Assembly or the Governor. The plurality of the members of the Commission have a background concentrated in law enforcement but it has become clear that law enforcement is not the only experience that is critical to ensuring that our police officers are trained appropriately and held accountable adequately. This legislation would change the composition of the Commission. It would decrease the number of members with a background concentrated in law enforcement and it would add several additional members with backgrounds in education, psychology, civil rights, and criminal law.

Currently, MPOETC is limited in their ability to hold bad actors accountable as they may only decertify an officer when that officer has been found to be in violation of 37 Pa. Code Ch. 203 or if they have been convicted of a specified offense. This legislation would expand the authority of the Commission by allowing it to suspend or decertify an officer who has been convicted of specified offenses, committed police misconduct in the exercise of their duties, or engaged in other behavior that may be probative of the individual’s ability to maintain the public trust. 
Additionally, it would:
  • Provide for additional removal powers for the Governor;
  • Outline specific recusal obligations on members when there may be an actual or perceived conflict of interest;
  • Require all meetings of the Commission to be open to the public and provide audio and video access thereto;
  • Require more thorough background checks with tighter standards;
  • Require pre-certification consultation with prior employing law enforcement agencies to determine whether the applicant has been decertified, suspended, or disciplined for misconduct;
  • Require police departments to forward complaints that allege misconduct by individual officers to the Commission;
  • Give immunity to any individual or entity who reports misconduct in good faith;
  • Give powers to the OAG to bring actions against departments to enforce their compliance;
  • Condition eligibility of grant money on compliance.
The vast majority of police officers are honest hard-working people. Of that, there is no doubt. But bad actors in their ranks are blackening the name of law enforcement as a whole. The public trust inherently placed upon the police is a sacred responsibility and requires that they be held to and scrutinized at a high standard. We need to do more to protect the badge, support our men and women in uniform who serve our communities nobly, and to protect that public trust by ensuring bad actors do not join their ranks.

Please join us in co-sponsoring this legislation.