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Pennsylvania Governor Vetoes Bill to Restrict Information in Police Shootings

Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday vetoed a bill that would have put statewide restrictions on when police departments can release the names of officers involved in shootings or other uses of force that cause injury.

By Steve Esack

Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday vetoed a bill that would have put statewide restrictions on when police departments can release the names of officers involved in shootings or other uses of force that cause injury.

The bill was meant to create a 30-day window for police departments and prosecutors to conduct investigations of police use of force without bending to the will of angry citizens demanding immediate information.

But the bill appeared to go much further than that.

The bill states officers' names would only be released if they were charged with a crime. But the bill's language could be interpreted to apply to criminal cases as well.

The bill states names would be withheld "during any period in which the release of the information can reasonably be expected to create a risk of harm" to the officers, their families or property. That reasonable expectation of harm would have applied beyond the 30-day investigative window or "after completion of the official investigation."

"The language is incredibly vague by not only denying the information for 30 days but by denying it indefinitely," said Andy Hoover, legislative director of the Philadelphia chapter of the ACLU.

Under the bill, the only time the officers' names would be released was if there was no worry of retaliation, the officers consented in writing or the name was revealed in normal court files. Those who violated the law would have been charged with a second-degree misdemeanor crime.

In vetoing the bill, Wolf said in a statement: "While I am deeply concerned for the safety of the commonwealth's police officers, government works best when trust and openness exist between citizens and their government, and as such, I cannot sign into law a policy that will enshrine the withholding of information in the public interest. Further, I cannot allow local police department policies to be superseded and transparency to be criminalized, as local departments are best equipped to decide what information is appropriate to release to the public."

Rep. Martina White, R-Philadelphia, introduced the bill in September 2015 after the Philadelphia police commissioner set an internal policy of releasing officers' names after 72 hours of a shooting incident. The commissioner's policy came as cities across the country were being rocked by marches and riots following police-involved shootings of black men.

The bill passed the Legislature with wide bipartisan support and was sent to Wolf's desk last week.

On Monday, White vowed to re-file the bill when the Legislature returns to session next year.

"Shootings are increasingly political," White said. "That places the lives of our officers and the lives of their family members in danger. While we need transparency whenever police are involved in a shooting, we owe our officers basic protection from threats."

The House returns to session on Jan. 3.

(c)2016 The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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