On June 18, Sheriff Rochelle Bilal joined Senator Sharif Street, Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Congressmen Evans and Boyle to call for a ban on the use of chokeholds by law enforcement throughout Pennsylvania.
On June 17, The PA Senate held hearings on policy reform for law enforcement. Advocates, including the state N.A.A.C.P and Attorney General Shapiro, who stated “Choke-holds have no place in policing. Law Enforcement leaders in Pennsylvania condemn their use and I support strong steps to prevent them from being used in our communities. Senator Street is the prime sponsor of bi-partisan legislation in the Senate that would outlaw the use of the standard chokehold and any action that inhibits breath or the flow of blood to the brain.
Sheriff Rochelle Bilal believes that,” until the culture of policing changes, these things will continue to happen. We must speak up, stand up and stop these things from happening. No one should be afraid to intervene when their colleague is doing wrong.”
As of June 23, 2020, The Senate Law & Justice Committee just unanimously passed SB1205 – Senator Sharif Street’s bill to ban the use of chokeholds by law enforcement officers and require law enforcement agencies to develop written Use of Force policies backed by annual training and public reporting of use of force incidents.
