Georgia Governor Passes Law Granting Cops Protected Status For 'Bias-Based' Crimes

Legal Issues

from the saving-the-protectors-from-the-protected dept

Georgia governor Brian Kemp — last seen here trying to turn his own election security problems into a Democrat-lead conspiracy — has just proven he’s unable to read the room. The governor can’t read the room in his own state, much less the current state of the nation. Less than a month after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis triggered nationwide protests against police violence, officers in Atlanta were involved in a controversial killing of a Black man in a fast food restaurant parking lot.

The state of the nation is pretty much the same as it is in Georgia. Now is not the time to be offering police officers even more legal protections, considering how much they’ve abused the ones they already have. Idiotic bills touted by legislators saying stupid things like “blue lives matter” come and go. Mostly they go, since they’re either redundant or unworkable. These laws try to turn a person’s career choice into an immutable characteristic, converting some of the most powerful people in the nation into a class that deserves protection from the public these officers are sworn to serve.

It’s now possible to commit a hate crime against a cop in Georgia, thanks to Kemp and his party-line voters.

Gov. Brian Kemp signed a proposal into law Wednesday that Republicans pushed to grant police new protections despite stiff opposition from critics who said it creates a messy tangle of legal problems.
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In a statement, Kemp said he took action because he has attended the funerals of too many law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, and he called the measure a “step forward as we work to protect those who are risking their lives to protect us.”

“While some vilify, target and attack our men and women in uniform for personal or political gain, this legislation is a clear reminder that Georgia is a state that unapologetically backs the blue,” Kemp said.

The standalone bill was a concession to state Republicans, who refused to help pass an actual hate crime bill without being able to give more protections to already-very well-protected police officers. Not only does the law make it a crime to engage in “bias motivated intimidation” of police officers and first responders, it gives them a way to exact revenge on anyone they believe has wronged them. From the bill [PDF]:

A peace officer shall have the right to bring a civil suit against any person, group of persons, organization, or corporation, or the head of an organization or corporation, for damages, either pecuniary or otherwise, suffered during the officer’s performance of official duties, for abridgment of the officer’s civil rights arising out of the officer’s performance of official duties, or for filing a complaint against the officer which the person knew was false when it was filed.

Critics of the bill believe this addition to state law would give officers a way to sue anti-police protesters for whatever harms officers feel they’ve suffered while policing demonstrations. And it would affect more than protesters. Anyone interacting with a police officer runs the risk of being sued because “damages suffered” is limited only by the officer’s imagination and the court’s tolerance. Even if the suit is baseless, the defendant still has to show up and defend themselves, using their own money while officers play litigation roulette with the taxpayers’ bankroll.

Then there’s the heart of the law, which makes certain acts hate crimes:

A person commits the offense of bias motivated intimidation when such person maliciously and with the specific intent to intimidate, harass, or terrorize another person because of that person’s actual or perceived employment as a first responder:

(1) Causes death or serious bodily harm to another person; or

(2) Causes damage to or destroys any real or personal property of a person because of actual or perceived employment as a first responder without permission and the amount of the damage exceeds $500.00 or the value of the property destroyed exceeds $500.00.

Those acts are punishable by five years and/or a $5,000 fine. And the acts described are already crimes. Doubling down on crimes to make cops feel special may actually make things more ridiculous, as the ACLU has explained.

According to the bill, anyone found guilty of the death, serious bodily harm or destruction of more than $500 worth of property of a first responder, specifically because of his or her occupation, would face between one and five years in prison and/or a fine up to $5,000.

Currently, the punishment for murder includes death, life in prison without the possibility of parole or life in prison.

Since the targeted killing of a police officer could be considered “bias motivated intimidation” of a first responder, the ACLU says a legal argument called the “rule of lenity” requires courts to pursue the charge that is the most favorable to a defendant.

And the most lenient charge is the new law, which calls for only a five-year sentence (maximum) for killing a cop if the crime appears to have been motivated by anti-cop bias. Prosecutors who want to do the most damage to cop-killers won’t be pursuing bias charges. They’ll ignore the new law completely. Legislators were apparently made aware of this conflict prior to the bill’s passage but apparently figured it would sort itself out once it became law.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jesse Stone, a Waynesboro Republican and attorney, said he was made aware of a potential problem with the legislation late Friday.

“I think if they were charged with bias motivated (intimidation), that might be a concern,” said Stone, who voted for HB 838 and is retiring this year. “I haven’t studied it, but I think it’s something that should be looked into.”

Yes, the best time to look into potential problems with legislative proposals is after they’ve become law. Everything about this new law is terrible, including its path to the governor’s desk. It passed with one vote, divided entirely along party lines. And it shows one party is far more concerned with pandering to its powerful law enforcement voter base than protecting citizens from their public servants.

Filed Under: 1st amendment, blue lives matter, brian kemp, georgia, hate crime, police, police rights