5 years in, when will Massachusetts update qualified immunity laws? 

Since the murder of George Floyd by police in 2020 sparked a national reckoning, there has been a resurgence in calls to end qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that shields law enforcement officers from legal liability in civil lawsuits. Members of the Joint Committee of the Judiciary are in the midst of considering a bill filed this session by Representative Michael Day that would make significant changes to qualified immunity in Massachusetts. 

In 2020, the legislature passed a landmark policing reform law. Among other changes, this law established a special legislative commission chaired by Senator Jamie Eldridge and Representative Michael S. Day to examine the origins and implementation of qualified immunity in Massachusetts. 

First, it’s important to define exactly what we mean by qualified immunity. The legal doctrine is enshrined in federal law, meaning that lawsuits brought against law enforcement in federal court (e.g., violations of the United States Constitution) will almost always be blocked by qualified immunity. Limiting qualified immunity at the state level (which is what Rep. Day’s legislation seeks to do) would only apply to cases brought against law enforcement in state courts. You can read more about the history of qualified immunity and its function in federal courts here.

Back to the special commission. Their findings, published in a 2022 report, did not propose significant changes to qualified immunity in Massachusetts, but did recommend removing the requirement to prove “threats, intimidation or coercion” in lawsuits against law enforcement. This recognizes police officers can commit serious civil rights violations without making specific threats, and allows victims their day in court. 

Since the commission’s lukewarm recommendations, the legislature has been reluctant to take further action. In fact, no significant criminal justice reform legislation has been passed since the 2020 “Reform, Shift + Build Act.” Day’s bill would codify the 2021 commission’s recommendation to remove “threats, intimidation or coercion” language, and would require courts to identify what exactly constitutes a civil rights violation. This does not go so far as to abolish qualified immunity in Massachusetts completely, but it would make it significantly easier to file lawsuits against police officers. For the last two legislative sessions, Representative Day introduced legislation with the same language. Both died without a vote at the end of session. 

During a hearing earlier this summer, Eric Atstupenas, general counsel for the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, assured members of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary that “this is not about shielding misconduct," but warned about the “wave of litigation this bill would invite.” The Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and other major police unions in the commonwealth, like the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (MassCOP), have long touted the myth that qualified immunity protects well-meaning officers from being unfairly targeted by floods of lawsuits. The concern about a “wave of litigation” seems to be an admission on the part of police unions of widespread police misconduct, since it seems unlikely that huge numbers of people would undertake the effort of bringing sham lawsuits against innocent police officers. 

The police unions pushing this agenda are the same police unions that lobby Massachusetts lawmakers. Since 2020, MassCOP has spent more than $40,875.00 lobbying Massachusetts lawmakers. In that same time, the State Police Association of Massachusetts Political Action Committee spent $3,950 lobbying Massachusetts elected officials. The New England Police Benevolent Association Political Action Committee contributed $4,750. 

Individual lawmakers are cashing in, too–especially the most powerful. House Ways & Means Chairman Aaron Michelwitz has received the maximum or close to the maximum donation by the MassCOP PAC every year since 2021. Since 2020, Senate President Karen Spilka has received $3,250 from MassCOP, New England Police Benevolent Association PAC, the Boston Police Patrolmen's PAC, and the Massachusetts State Police Commissioned Officers PAC. House Speaker Ron Mariano has received the maximum PAC contribution of $500 every year since 2022. Governor Maura Healey, a former prosecutor, has accepted $4,500 from MassCOP since being elected in 2022. 

According to reporting by policescorecard.org, there were more than 3,255 civilian complaints of police misconduct in Massachusetts  from 2016-2021. Just 17% of those complaints ruled in favor of civilians. In the city of Springfield, which entered a consent decree with the Justice Department over use of force concerns, only 5% of 120 use-of-force complaints were ruled in favor of citizens. In 2022, the City of Boston created the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency (OPAT), which receives and documents complaints by civilians against Boston Police officers. In just three years since then, as of September 2025, the OPAT has received 439 legitimate civilian complaints. 

All this is to say that police misconduct is by no means a dormant problem in Massachusetts, and qualified immunity reform offers a material way for victims of police violence to get a chance at compensation for the harm they’ve suffered. Limiting qualified immunity is not a new or revolutionary idea; in Colorado and Nevada, sweeping changes have been made to qualified immunity that open up opportunities for victims to sue officers for misconduct. New Mexico introduced a Civil Rights Act in 2022 that effectively abolished qualified immunity as a defense in state courts.  

It is no coincidence that the lawmakers raking in police union lobbying cash are reluctant to pass substantive criminal justice reform and curtail police power. It's their tried and true playbook of inaction; make empty promises that appease voters without sacrificing lobbying money.  

Blog post by Lily Power, Act on Mass Intern, Fall 2025