Hawaii lawmakers took a
critical step forward Friday to require police to cough up their misconduct
records when the public asks for them.
The Senate Judiciary and Labor
Committee, chaired by Sen. Clayton Hee, passed House Bill 1812 over the
objections of the county police departments and the cops union.
The bill removes an exemption
that limits what misconduct records must be made public. It also requires
additional detail and updating for annual reports of police misconduct and
forces the cops to keep the records for at least 18 months after reporting them
to the Legislature.
The bill now heads to the full
Senate for its approval.
Read past Civil Beat coverage
of the issue here.
— Nathan Eagle