When a government official willfully violates their sacred sworn oath to uphold and protect the rule of law, they present a dire challenge to our society.
We must end the acceptance of qualified immunity as a defense for willful violations of a person’s civil rights. The moral hazard that surrounds qualified immunity will continually manifest abhorrent behaviors and further erode the rule of law.
There is wide agreement across party and ideological lines that we need to reform policing in our state. To be effective, those reforms need to be comprehensive.
In addition to eliminating unnecessary criminalization to allow law enforcement to focus resources on preventing and solving serious crimes, we must transform police culture and remove structural barriers to good policing.
Those last two are the focus of legislation beginning to make its way through the legislature that would open an avenue to accountability by allowing New Mexicans who have had their rights violated to have their day in court.
We need to reform and transform policing in our state.
Sign the letter to your lawmakers and encourage them to end qualified immunity in New Mexico!