Bill > H2653

This bill requires law enforcement agencies to develop and maintain comprehensive support policies for officers who have experienced critical incidents, which are defined as traumatic events such as line of duty deaths, officer suicides, multiple casualty incidents, stressful incidents involving children, or other significant emotionally impactful events. The bill mandates that these policies include pre-incident preparation and training about post-traumatic reactions, protocols for ensuring officers' physical and psychological safety, provisions for post-critical incident services that can extend to an officer's family, guidelines for temporary leave or duty reassignment, and procedures for returning to duty. The policy must be developed in collaboration with the municipal police training committee and may include confidential mental health interventions with qualified professionals (which can be conducted via telehealth), ongoing mental health services, and peer support options. Agencies must review and potentially revise these policies at least every two years, with the overall goal of supporting law enforcement officers' mental health and well-being after experiencing traumatic work-related events. The bill emphasizes flexibility in implementation, recognizing that agencies' resources and capabilities may vary.

Budget and Finance, Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H2653