James Maroney

State Senator James Maroney Votes to Give Police More Time for Use of Deadly Force Training

HARTFORD – State Senator James Maroney (D-Milford) joined his Democratic colleagues in the state Senate today in voting for a bill that will give local police departments an additional nine months to train their officers in new standards regarding the use of deadly force against state citizens.

The new standards – which were part of the wide-ranging Police Accountability Act that was signed into law in July 2020 – limits the circumstances under which a police officer’s use of deadly physical force is justified, and establishes new criteria to consider in evaluating whether an officer’s use of deadly force (including the use of chokeholds) was reasonable.

Many aspects of the 36-section Act have already taken effect; the new deadly force standard, which was scheduled to take effect on April 1, will now take effect on January 1, 2022.

“I applaud Senator Winfield for working with advocates to give our police more time to ensure that they are properly trained with the new use of force policy,” said Sen. Maroney. “This training will be beneficial to all. Officers will have an extended period of time to thoroughly understand this new policy and the community can rest assured knowing officers in our state will receive proper training.”