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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today joined 35 lawmakers led by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) in reintroducing the Ending Qualified Immunity Act. This legislation will eliminate the court-invented doctrine of qualified immunity and restore Americans' ability to obtain relief when state and local officials, including police officers, violate their legal and constitutional rights.

“Qualified immunity was created out of thin air by the courts and has allowed police officers to break the law with impunity. All too often the doctrine has been abused by law enforcement to evade consequences for the brutal use of excessive force toward Black Americans. Denying civilians their constitutional rights to shield a police officer from penalties is unjust and has to end,” said Congresswoman Pingree. “By eliminating qualified immunity once and for all we can begin to restore trust, accountability, and fairness to our justice system.”

Across the country, police and law enforcement officers continue to escape legal accountability when they break the law, shielded from liability by the doctrine of qualified immunity. Congress granted individuals the right to sue state and local officials who violate their rights, including police officers, in the Civil Rights Act of 1871, now found under Section 1983 of the US Code. However, since 1967 the Supreme Court has issued several decisions gutting this protection by inventing the qualified immunity doctrine, rendering police officers from being successfully sued for misconduct, negligence, or abuse, a unique protection that no other profession holds. The court’s broad interpretation of this doctrine has allowed police to violate constitutional rights with impunity, providing officers immunity for everything from unlawful traffic stops to brutality and murder.  

The Ending Qualified Immunity Act codifies that the qualified immunity doctrine is not grounds for defense for violations of the law. The legislation was originally introduced in June 2020. Pingree called for the end of qualified immunity in 2020, after the high-profile death of George Floyd and countless other Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.