Lamont Institutes New State Police Policies

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont signed an executive order Monday that will immediately institute some reform for state police. He is working with the state legislature to set similar policies for municipal police as well.

His order bans state police form using chokeholds and other tactics that restrict oxygen flow to the head or neck. State police will also have a duty to intervene and report in writing when another officer is using excessive force.

“This order that I’ve signed today is just one step in how we are responding in our state,” Lamont said. “Working with our partners in the legislature and with meaningful community input, I want this conversation to continue so that we can enact reforms that increase community confidence in law enforcement and ensure public safety.”

Troopers will also have to report all uses of force, including drawing a firearm on another civilian.

State police will also be banned from purchasing or acquiring military and military-style equipment from the federal government until further notice.

Every uniformed officer will also have to wear a body camera and every marked state police vehicle will be equipped with a dashboard camera.

State police will also have to appoint and train community trust liaisons in each troop location.

Lamont is also working to recruit more diverse candidates into the state police academy. There has been some headway made in the past few years; currently around 80 percent of the department are white males and 60 percent of the current academy class are white males.

Lamont will also order that a use of force public portal be created that has town-by-town data on when force is used by police, including the race and gender of the person who force was used on. Right now the portal would only apply to state police.

State Rep. Brandon McGee (D-Hartford) said Lamont’s executive effort is a good start, but it will be key to get the same policies down to the local police departments. He also said that he is in favor of independent police review boards that give community stakeholders a part of the overall process regarding complaints.

State Rep. Joe Verrangia who is chair of the public safety legislative committee said that police training over the past few years have changed from a military-style to more of a collegiate-style. Having the same policies for state and local police would help.

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