Following the murder indictment of Austin Police officer Christopher Taylor for the shooting death of Mike Ramos last year, Texas officials announced a set of justice reform bills in the state house and senate dubbed the Mike Ramos Act.
Austin area State Senator and former Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhart is supporting the Act. She explains it pushes transparency, training and more oversight onto Texas Law enforcement.
State Sen. Eckhart says it would require the release of body camera footage following a deadly officer involved shooting, “This footage would first be released to members and staff of existing civilian oversight bodies. Next, it would be released to the attorneys representing those who are depicted on the video, and the close relatives of the individual who was killed during the altercation. And third it would be released to the public.”
Should the act be passed and signed into law it would also grant more responsibilities and oversight to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, which regulates the state’s various departments and licences officers. It would direct TCoLE to include better de-escalation training and requirements for law enforcement officers, hoping to prevent another shooting like that of Ramos’.
Eckhart says should an officer not exhibit the qualities needed to de-escalate a situation, TCoLE should also have the power to revoke that officer’s license.
