State Senator: 'We Still Have Work To Do' While Senate Takes Up Police Accountability Bill

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DENVER (CBS4) - The Colorado Senate took up police reform debates Wednesday morning - the day after Derek Chauvin, a former police officer in Minneapolis, was convicted of killing George Floyd. State Sen. Rhonda Fields said she's not celebrating yet, but instead is thinking about other victims of police violence like Sandra Bland and Eric Garner.

Sen. Rhonda Fields (credit: CBS)

Fields says she's proud of Colorado legislators for responding to a call for change.

"I want you to know that it's still hard for me to breath, because we still have work to do, but iI want to thank all of you for the role you've played addressing policing in Colorado," she said on the Senate floor.

The Senate debated changes to the police accountability bill which passed last June amid widespread protests. The proposed changes would affect the standard for when an officers is allowed to use deadly force and require de-escalation techniques.

The current bill bans chokeholds and says an officer can be sued for misconduct.