Senator Nasheed refuses to support weakened version of her Deadly Force Bill

On Tuesday, the Missouri Senate debated legislation (SBs 199, et al.) that would redefine the standards under which law enforcement could use deadly force.  Several bills were combined into SB 199, including Sen. Nasheed’s SB 42.  SB 42 would require police officers to have probable cause that a suspect posed an immediate risk of serious injury before they could use deadly force. However, during debate on the Senate floor, members of the majority party significantly watered down Sen. Nasheed’s probable cause standard.

The probable cause standard aligns with the US Supreme Court decision in Tennessee v. Garner, with the Missouri Attorney General’s recommendations following his Roundtable on Representative Policing, and with the Missouri Approved Jury Instructions. “Deadly force is the most intrusive seizure. Therefore, the higher standard of probable cause makes sense,” said Sen. Nasheed.

“One day after Baltimore, one session after Ferguson, the Senate refuses to hear the people’s cry for change.  Probable cause needs to go back into the bill, or else I will not support it. The other sponsors on this bill worked with law enforcement to preserve the status quo. I refuse to support a watered-down version of this legislation,” said Sen. Nasheed.