“It’s not one and done,” Bacon said of SB20-217. The fact that the bill hasn’t been rolled back shows the durability of the moment, she said. “But then on the movement side, we can build upon it. But it’s hard.”
The number of certified officers leaving positions in Colorado did increase after 2020, according to employment data collected by the Peace Officers Standards and Training Board. Between 2020 and 2013, an average of 1,876 officers left their positions – up from an average of 1,646 in the previous three years.
While dozens of other state legislatures have considered bills to end or limit the qualified immunity defense for police officers, few have passed. Only New Mexico and Connecticut have passed laws limiting the use of the legal defense, and those laws are not as far-reaching as Colorado’s.co-sponsored a follow-up measure in 2021
“At this place, at this time, at this moment and in good faith discussions with my co-sponsors, this is what we needed to do,” he said.