“The bill goes a lot further than just eliminating qualified immunity,” Kaitschuk said. “I have a duty to intervene, at the same time, if I do intervene and I didn’t act and based on the information that I have in front of me, I’m going to be held liable if somebody else made a mistake or if I detain someone.”

Tarver argued that if law enforcement officers leave the field as a result of the proposed legislation, they did not belong in the field to begin with.

“If this leads to less police officers who are attracted to law enforcement because they know that they can demonize people and brutalize people, then I’m all for it,” Tarver said. “If this leads to attracting the right people, I’m all for it as well.”

Tarver said the legislation is not intended to target police officers unfairly, but rather is designed to hold all officers to a higher standard.

“It’s very simple, like everybody else in the private sector, control your employees, hire the best and the brightest, train them, provide the resources,” Tarver said. “If municipalities are concerned, all they have to do is follow that very basic guideline and I think we’d all be in better shape.”

Opponents on the committee, including Reps. Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, and Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, argued the bill goes too far to target a legal defense that is rarely used in Illinois.