U.S. lawmaker prepares bill aiming to end court protection for police

lawmaker plans to introduce legislation this week that he hopes will end a pattern of police violence by allowing victims to sue officers for illegal and unconstitutional acts.

Representative Justin Amash, a former Republican turned Libertarian, won support from a Minneapolis Democrat on Monday for his “Ending Qualified Immunity Act,” which would allow civil lawsuits against police, a recourse that the Supreme Court has all but done away with.

The high court's adoption (here) of the qualified immunity doctrine has largely shielded police from financial settlements for victims or grieving families.

“The brutal killing of George Floyd is merely the latest in a long line of incidents of egregious police misconduct,” Amash told colleagues in a letter.

“This pattern continues because police are legally, politically and culturally insulated ...