INDIANAPOLIS — After last year's protests and calls for change, it became part of a massive and bipartisan bill: tackling police reform.
Now, a new law will require officers to go through mandatory de-escalation training. The law bans chokeholds in certain situations, and it makes it a misdemeanor for an officer to intentionally turn off a body camera to cover up a crime.
"I think this is a step in the right direction, and I think it will bring more credibility to law enforcement agencies," said Kenneth Sullivan, an Indianapolis pastor engaged in the conversation for reform. "It will also be sort of an olive branch from policing agencies to the communities to say 'Yes, we've heard your cries, we've seen some things that have happened that have disturbed us, so we're moving forward to make sure we are policing our communities in the best way that we can.'"
At the same time, though, Sullivan said the new state law is not a fix-all for police and community relations, but he's a little surprised action came this fast.
"I'm cautiously optimistic, in terms of the future with policing in our community," said Sullivan. "I think the state of Indiana has done a good job on a number of fronts and we have avoided some of the things we've seen happen in other cities.
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