House to vote on LEOBOR bill

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — Today, the Rhode Island House of Representatives will vote on a bill that will reform The Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights.

The bill, known as LEOBOR, can determine what is and isn’t shared with the public when an officer is disciplined.

Under the law, any officer that is accused of misconduct is granted a hearing with three active or retired police officers.

If passed, the bill would raise the number of people on the panel to five, with the inclusion of a judge and attorney.

A reform to LEOBOR has been a key point of topic with legislators since 2020 during George Floyd protests, however the bill had never made it to the General Assembly.

Chief of Woonsocket Police, who is also the Vice President of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association said:

“Being on the Chief’s executive board, we had a lot of back-and-forth discussions with leadership in the house on the wording of the bill, and we’ve come to something that we think is workable for everybody. And we’re looking forward to it getting passed.”

Advocates who are in opposition of the bill say that it doesn’t go far enough, with some hoping to repeal the bill completely like it has been done in other states.

The bill will be voted on at 4 p.m., and if passed, it’ll make its way to the Senate.