By Briasia Russ

Senator Brian Williams has signed a bill on police reform and a chokehold ban. According to Senate.gov, this will implement several significant police and criminal justice reform measures.  

Sen. Williams knows that this new law will be a help to Black lives. 

“I grew up in Ferguson, Missouri, and in 2018 became the first Black man elected to the State Senate in 20 years. I know that George Floyd could have easily been me or any of the countless Black men and women who live in our state,” said Sen. Williams. “Without a doubt, this new law will save Black lives and make Missouri’s streets safer for everyone.” 

As reported by Senate.gov, Senate Bill 60 contains police reforms that:  

• Prohibits law enforcement from using a respiratory chokehold unless deadly force is authorized; 
• Increases the penalty to a class E felony for officers and correctional staff who engage in sexual conduct with a person in their custody; 
• Prevents officers who have been discharged from one department for wrongdoing from simply moving to another department to escape accountability; 
• Establishes, through provisions sponsored by Sen. Karla May, D-St. Louis, the Critical Incident Stress Management Program to provide services for officers coping with stress and psychological trauma, and requires Missouri law enforcement agencies to collect and report local annual data on use-of-force incidents involving their officers; 
• Helps to make sure that children are not put in adult prisons by clarifying that a juvenile who has been certified to stand trial as an adult shall remain in juvenile detention pending the outcome of their case; 

Senate Bill 60 will go into effect August 28th, 2021.