A bill that was recently signed into law by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds addresses some police reforms.

Following several protests in Des Moines and other communities across the state regarding police brutality, a bill was passed unanimously in the House and Senate, and was promptly signed by Reynolds into law last week. District 47 Representative Phil Thompson of Jefferson says the new law requires the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to investigate a death that was caused by a law enforcement officer, prohibits the use of a chokehold by law enforcement with specific exceptions allowed, and it prevents law enforcement officers that were fired for serious misconduct from outside of Iowa seeking employment in the state.  

The protests that happened in Iowa – and continue to happen – were sparked by the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody in late May. Thompson says to watch how quickly the legislative process went to pass this new law was in a word “amazing.”

“It was a really cool moment for us to see what can happen when everybody’s on the same page. It was probably an experience that I won’t get to see again in the Iowa House. As much as I wanted to think that all legislation can be that easy and we can all just five-wave (each other). It was an experience like none other.”

Thompson adds, the new law is “pro-police” and should be viewed by other states as a model of how to get new laws passed to deal with an issue that is happening across the country.