Letter to the Editor

TO THE EDITOR:

On Friday June 5th, citizens in Westport marched in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, hoping to spread awareness for the need for increased police reform and accountability in the United States. Marching with them was Senator Will Haskell, who assured citizens that “conversations are now underway on how lawmakers can pass police accountability legislation.”

Weeks later, Connecticut citizens are seeing Haskell’s words becoming a reality. Governor Ned Lamont issued a call for a special session in Hartford on Friday, July 17th to tackle four bills, one of which being a 63 page legislation on police accountability. The bill tackles police reform in a number of ways, such as by reforming the duties of the state’s Police Officer Standards and Training Council, further investigating police unions and contracts that officers hide their wrong doings behind, required use of body worn cameras, along with many other new rules.

Senator Will Haskell has long been an advocate for police accountability. He marched side by side with citizens of the 26th district in peaceful protests throughout the weeks of June and shared information with his followers on social media regarding ways they could learn about and push for change. His recognition for the need for police accountability is nothing new, Haskell has long been a supporter of law enforcement reform. In 2019, Haskell supported Senator Gary Winfield as he worked to pass a police accountability bill.

Now, Haskell hopes to further his work with police accountability and support the bill in the upcoming special session along with his colleagues. I commend Sen. Haskell for his commitment to this legislation, and I hope other legislators will join him in voting for this important bill.

— Anabel Sollinger

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