PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 19, 2014 – At a news conference in Philadelphia today, state Sen.-elect Art Haywood announced that he will introduce legislation to require the appointment of a special prosecutor in all incidents of deadly force in which a police officer is involved.

“We don’t need to wait for a Ferguson to happen in Pennsylvania before we act. Our state can lead the nation by passing a law that gives focus to the energy and emotion demonstrated by so many across our country in the aftermath of recent events,” Haywood said. “Trust is a crucial ingredient for community and restoring faith in our justice system needs to be a priority.”

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Under Senate rules, Haywood started his constituent service and legislative work on Dec. 1, and will be officially sworn into office Jan. 6.

He said he is currently seeking co-sponsors for his legislation and has reached out to civic groups and the law enforcement community to gather input and direction.

Under his proposal, the state attorney general would be required to appoint an independent special prosecutor whenever there is a deadly force incident and a police officer is involved. The special prosecutor would serve as an impartial investigator and remove the perceived conflict a local district attorney might have in prosecuting a local police officer.

Haywood said he hoped the bill would create a dialogue in the Capitol and across the Commonwealth that would include the views of thousands of protesters that have taken to the streets in Pennsylvania cities, as well as those in law enforcement and their families. He is currently seeking co-sponsors and supporters for his legislation and has reached out to civic groups and the law enforcement community to gather input and direction.

“This bill is not intended as an indictment of Pennsylvania’s law enforcement community and I am not suggesting that there have been specific instances in Pennsylvania that give rise to accusations of bias,” Haywood said. “My intention is to prevent prosecutors and grand juries in our state from ever having their work tainted by these accusations.”

Haywood said he would introduce his legislation as quickly as possible after his swearing in.