Wolf vetoes bill that would have kept police names from being released
Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday vetoed a bill that would have kept the names of police officers from being immediately released after a shooting or violent confrontation, but the bill’s prime sponsor said she will reintroduce it next year when Republicans can override another veto.
“While I am deeply concerned for the safety of the commonwealth’s police officers, government works best when trust and openness exists between citizens and their government, and as such, I cannot sign into law a policy that will enshrine the withholding of information in the public interest,” Wolf said in a statement following the veto of House Bill 1538.
Under the bill, officials would have been prohibited from releasing the names of officers involved in shootings or use-of-force cases that result in fatalities or serious injuries for 30 days or whenever charges were filed or the investigation was completed.
The bill would not have applied to the state’s attorney general’s office or district attorneys. Violators could have been charged with a second-degree misdemeanor under the bill.
State Rep. Martina White, R-Philadelphia, introduced the bill in September 2015. It passed the House then was amended and passed in the Senate 39-9 on Oct. 26. The House approved the amended version 151-32 the next day and sent it to Wolf’s desk.
All four Republican state senators in southwest Pennsylvania supported the measure and all House members supported the amended bill except for state Rep. Pete Daley, D-California, who was absent and did not vote.
Three GOP legislators in the region — state Rep. Rick Saccone of Elizabeth Township, state Rep. Ryan Warner of Perryopolis and state Rep. Jim Marshall of Beaver County — signed on as co-sponsors of the bill.
On Monday, White said she would reintroduce the bill in the next legislative session. Republicans increased their majority in the House to 122-81 and to a veto-proof 34-16 in the Senate in the Nov. 8 general election.
“I wish the governor had recognized the importance of protecting police officers and their families,” White said in a statement, noting that the bill passed with bipartisan support and the backing of the state Fraternal Order of Police.
“In these politically charged times, an officer’s identity should be withheld for at least 30 days in order to allow facts to come to light as to whether the officer should be charged with an offense or cleared, and any threats against the officers or their families have dissipated.”
“Shootings are increasingly political. That places the lives of our officers and the lives of their family members in danger,” White said. “While we need transparency whenever police are involved in a shooting, we owe our officers basic protection from threats. That’s why I will re-introduce the legislation in the 2017-18 session.”
But, Wolf said the bill would keep “important information” from the public.
“These situations in particular – when law enforcement uses deadly force – demand utmost transparency, otherwise a harmful mistrust will row between police officers and the communities they protect and serve,” Wolf said. “Transparency and accountability are required of all public employees, but this bill ignores the reality that a police officer is a public employee.”
Wolf said the bill would also have superseded local police department policies, “even though local police departments are better equipped to decide what information is appropriate to release to the public.”