Louisiana enacts new law to protect police whistleblowers

By Wesley Muller
Contributing Writer

(lailluminator.com) — Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed into law a bill to protect police whistleblowers from retaliation.

House Bill 745, by Rep. Kyle Green, D-Marrero, received unanimous support in both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature. The proposal underwent amendments that weakened it from its original version.

The final version prohibits local police departments from discriminating, harassing, demoting, suspending or terminating employees who report malfeasance. It also establishes a civil cause of action, meaning whistleblowers could sue the law enforcement agency for punitive damages associated with any action taken against the employee who reports misconduct.

Green’s original version of the bill included a provision that would have required all sustained complaints against an officer to remain in the officer’s personnel file permanently and be made available to the public upon request. It was removed during debate on the House floor.

The new law is one of several incremental police reform measures that members of the Legislative Black Caucus have championed since the officer-involved killings of Alton Sterling in 2016 and Ronald Greene in 2019. It takes effect Aug. 1.

This article originally published in the June 27, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.