Dear Editor,
I read with interest the front page article “Qualified Immunity Bill could affect police staffing.” The article gave only one side of this issue and implied that the bill is still being discussed. In this year’s Vermont legislature the bill did not get to a vote and was relegated to a study group.
Qualified immunity can work. It need not be a detriment to good policing but can strengthen citizens’ recourse if and when police overstep their own rules.
Do lawyers or doctors or teachers have qualified immunity?
If a police officer infringes on the rights of citizens, I believe citizens should have recourse to file suit, to seek redress.
Your article focused on a view that police need to be protected. All of us, citizens and police need protection. Police must be answerable for their actions. We have seen cases, recently and in the past, where police acted improperly. Qualified immunity protects that, it does not protect citizens nor the police who act responsibly.
Sincerely,
Barbara Ternes
Bellows Falls, Vt.