from the well-there’s-no-way-this-could-go-wrong dept
Speaking as someone who has covered a whole lot of extremely weird legislating in service of that notoriously under-protected class of citizens (you know: cops), I have to say this is one the most batshit insane things I have ever seen offered up for a vote at any level of government.
Even taking into account that this is happening in Alabama, it’s so off-the-rails there’s no way I could let this pass me by on the internet slipstream. While I can kind of understand half of the bill, I am still in a slack-jawed state of disbelief of the other half.
Anyway, here’s the pitch, as relayed by WBRC TV:
State Representative Juandalynn Givan has filed a bill in the Alabama House of Representatives for a police abuse registry.
It would require the attorney general to create, maintain and publish a registry for individuals convicted of using or threatening to use force against a law enforcement officer.
So, it’s a sex offender registry, except for people who may have resisted arrest or accidentally bumped an officer during an “interaction,” or simply said something rude about cops in the presence of a cop. Spitting is also a crime. It’s a law that lends itself to abuse, and I’m not even talking about this bill, which is weird af.
The thing about “using force” against cops is that it’s all in the eye of the only beholder cop shops, legislators, and judges will listen to: police officers. What’s often treated and adjudicated as “assault” is often nothing more than any slight display of anger or resistance when being accosted/arrested. Very few people actually assault cops in ways most people would recognize as assault. Even fewer people kill cops, since that’s something that gets every page of the book thrown at the criminal suspect.
Unlike sex offender registries (which have their own set of problems), there appears to be no end date listed in the bill’s text. In other words, lay a finger on a cop (even inadvertently) and you’ll be on the police radar forever.
According to state rep Givan, this new form of registry is essential. Without it, cops might not know which citizens are more threatening than others. (Or which citizens might need a little extra physical “encouragement” when detained or arrested.)
“In many cases, individuals have a history of attacking or threatening officers. It’s past time for officers to have advanced knowledge of who to look out for.”
OK. Still weird, but at least there’s a reason for the creation of the list that won’t immediately provoke gales of disbelieving laughter. No, Givan is saving that part for the end of the pitch.
After ensuring this is all about protecting officers and reminding would-be offenders that it will be “difficult but not impossible” to be removed from the cop-beater list, Givan immediately gives these offenders she thinks are too dangerous to roam around unlisted a way to immediately remove themselves from the registry.
The Attorney General, before January 1, 2026, shall establish a procedure for individuals to request removal from the registry. The procedure shall include the requirement that an individual must pay five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each conviction for a qualifying offense that the individual is seeking to have removed from the registry.
Neat! So, the threat to cops is so real a registry must be created. But anyone on the registry can buy their way off of it with a $5,000 “donation” that will be deposited in the state’s “Law Enforcement Injury Fund,” which is the other thing this bill would create.
Like most laws, it only applies if you don’t have a lot of liquidity. Anyone rich enough can presumably beat on cops in perpetuity if they’re willing to, I don’t know, purchase enough assaulting-on-officer offsets to ensure deletion from law enforcement’s “people WE want to beat on” database.
Established: cop assaulters will be listed on a near-permanent registry… unless, said cop assaulter has a few grand laying around. Then they can fly under the radar until the next time they assault a cop. Perverse, but not much of an incentive.
On the other hand, now cops will have even more reason to exaggerate any physical/verbal affront into assault charges because (1) it allows cops to track the movements of even more people, and (2) it may result in even more money flowing into cop coffers via a slush fund the state AG isn’t likely to subject to scrutiny when cops start asking to make withdrawals.
I can’t see how this makes this to the governor’s desk. Then again, I’m rarely able to forecast what Alabama might do on any given legislative session day. If nothing else, it’s just a reminder there’s nothing some legislators won’t do for cops, even if it means openly courting open corruption.
Filed Under: alabama, corruption, jaundalynn given, police violence, public safety
