NYC mayoral candidate Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain, says it's "imperative" to remove qualified immunity
CBSN
New York City mayoral candidate Eric Adams, a former New York Police Department captain, said Friday that completely removing the city's qualified immunity policy for law enforcement is key to police reform.
"It's imperative to remove the qualified immunity, particularly with officers who recklessly disregard the role that they are carrying out," said the Brooklyn Borough President in an interview with CBSN. "But we should do it in a manner that we do not go after officers who are carrying out lawful actions." Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that protects government officials, including police officers, from civil lawsuits unless the official was found to irresponsibly exercise power. The principle has been criticized for decades for protecting law enforcement in cases like unreasonable searches and seizures and excessive force.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.