Police car siren

On July 31, 2020, Governor Lamont signed into law Public Act 20-1, An Act Concerning Police Accountability. Included in this lengthy law was a section creating the new Office of the Inspector General within the Division of Criminal Justice. While the new office is also charged with investigating police who witness abuse and making recommendations on police certification, the main mission of this new office is to review, investigate and prosecute police officer-involved deaths.

This role of reviewing police use of deadly force had previously been the responsibility of the state's attorneys for Connecticut's 13 judicial districts. And although the intent behind this new law is worthy, it may have created more problems than it solved.