Virginia’s NAACP state chapter is launching a campaign to end qualified immunity in the Commonwealth.

AMHERST COUNTY, Va. – Amherst County leaders are urging Virginia lawmakers to protect qualified immunity for law enforcement. The Board of Supervisors issued a letter to express opposition against House bill 2045, which would make officers personally liable for any damages and fees. Dean Rodgers, the county’s administrator, says the existing law already promotes accountability, allowing prosecutions and civil lawsuits to move forward. “If you’re outside the scope of your employment; if you’re doing something that you weren’t taught, trained, advised, managed to do, then you’re on your own,” said Rodgers. Rodgers says the bill would also force localities to pay higher insurance costs and make it harder for them to recruit law enforcement.