COLORADO SHITCANS QUALIFIED IMMUNITY FOR COPS

by Bob Walsh

Depending on how you look at it Colorado may have been the first state in the union to jump off the NO POLICE cliff yesterday.  The legislature approved and the governor signed a bill removing qualified immunity from police officers in that state.

It remains to see what effect this will have on police recruitment and retention.  My guess it is will be significant.  It will, I expect, also lead to a strong overlay of The Ferguson Effect on law enforcement officers in the state, where they will be very reluctant to act in some situations.  I also expect it will have a strong negative impact on SWAT team membership due to the nature of the work they do.