Senator Coleman introduces bills to combat excessive use of force by police

This week, Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, introduced several bills for the 2025 legislative session aimed at regulating the use of force by law enforcement officers, in an apparent effort to combat police brutality and increase accountability.

SB-16 would “prohibit law enforcement officers from using the four-point restraint, also known as the hog-tie position, to restrain an individual.” The bill would prevent officers from restraining individuals face down on the ground by “bandaging or tying” their limbs behind their backs.

The use of a four-point seat belt can lead to dislocation, bruising, numbness, tingling, fractures or muscle strain of the individual’s limbs. In addition, when held face down, there is an increased risk of suffocation.

Senator Coleman’s bill would make the use of such a restriction by law enforcement a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $6,000.

Senator Coleman has also introduced two bills that both seek to ban law enforcement from using Tasers on restrained individuals.

SB-23 would make it “unlawful for a law enforcement officer to use a Taser on a person who is restrained or otherwise unable to resist” – including when handcuffing a person. SB-20 uses the same language, but states that using a Taser in such a scenario would result in the officer facing a class C misdemeanor, resulting in a prison sentence ranging from 1 year and 1 day to 10 years.

Finally, Senator Coleman has pre-filed SB-24, which would expand public access to body-worn cameras (BWC) and dashboard camera footage recorded by law enforcement agencies.

As the bill describes, current Alabama law only requires law enforcement agencies to disclose such images to “a person whose image or voice is the subject of the recording.” SB-24 would give any member of the public access to BWC and dashboard recordings through a standard public records request. Law enforcement would be required to release the recording within 30 days of such a request. Additionally, the bill outlines an appeals process that can be followed if a law enforcement agency fails to provide requested footage.

The number of individuals killed annually by U.S. law enforcement has steadily increased over the past decade, with more people killed by police in 2023 than any other year in the past decade. Statistically, people of color, especially Black Americans, are disproportionately killed by police.

Alabama currently has a score of 52 out of 100 on the Police Scorecard, “the first national public assessment of policing in the United States.” As stated on the official Police Scorecard website: “States with higher scores spend less on policing, use less force, are more likely to hold officers accountable, and make fewer arrests for low-level offenses.” Alabama scored a 39 out of 100 regarding police brutality in the state, with 325 Alabamians killed at the hands of law enforcement between 2013 and 2021.