HB 5428 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

House of Representatives General Assembly SubstituteFile Bill No.

5428599 February Session, 2026 ANSubstitute ACTHouse CONCERNINGBill THENo. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

5428 House of Representatives, April 13, 2026 The Committee on Judiciary reported through REP.

STAFSTROM of the 129th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

(2)sHB5428 (A)/ ExceptFile asNo. provided under subdivision (1) of this subsection, whenever a person dies [in the] within the physical custody of a peace officer or law enforcement agency, the Inspector General shall investigate and determine whether physical force was used by a peace officer upon the deceased person, and if so, whether the use of physical force by the peace officer was justifiable under section 53a-22.

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5428599 Inspector(2) General(A) determinesExcept theas deceasedprovided personunder maysubdivision have(1) diedof asthis subsection, whenever a resultperson dies [in the] within the physical custody of criminala actionpeace notofficer involvingor law enforcement agency, the useInspector ofGeneral shall investigate and determine whether physical force was used by a peace officer,officer upon the Inspectordeceased Generalperson, shalland referif suchso, casewhether to the Chiefuse State'sof Attorneyphysical orforce aby state'sthe attorneypeace forofficer potentialwas prosecution.justifiable under section 53a-22.

If the Inspector General determines the deceased person may have died as a result of criminal action not involving the use of force by a peace officer, the Inspector General shall refer such case to the Chief State's Attorney or a state's attorney for potential prosecution.

(3) Whenever a person who (A) is a next of kin of a deceased person, (B) is not notified of such deceased person's death as required pursuant to section 7-294mm and no other person who is a next of kin of the deceased person was so notified, and (C) requests of the Office of the Inspector General an investigation of the lack of notification or timely notification of such death, the Inspector General shall investigate and determine whether there was any malfeasance on the part of a peace officer or a supervisor of the peace officer in the failure to provide such notification or timely notification, and if so, may make recommendations to the Police Officer Standards and Training Council established under section 7-294b concerning censure, suspension, renewal, cancelation or revocation of the peace officer's or supervisor's certification, provided any such recommendation may be made to said council only in a case where such failure is found to be intentional or madesHB5428 with/ recklessFile indifference.No.

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599 made with reckless indifference.

(4) The Inspector General shall request the appropriate law LCOenforcement 2agency ofto 6provide Substitutesuch Billassistance No.as is necessary to investigate and make a determination under subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of this subsection.

5428 enforcement agency to provide such assistance as is necessary to investigate and make a determination under subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of this subsection.

The Chief State's Attorney shall provide a copy of the report to the chief executive officer of the municipality in which the incident occurred and to the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection or the chief ofsHB5428 police/ ofFile suchNo. municipality, as the case may be, and shall make such report available to the public on the Division of Criminal Justice's Internet web site not later than forty-eight hours after the copies are provided to the chief executive officer and the commissioner or chief of police.

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5428599 (c)of Thepolice Office of thesuch Inspectormunicipality, Generalas shallthe prosecutecase anymay casebe, inand whichshall themake Inspectorsuch Generalreport determinesavailable thatto (1)the public on the useDivision of forceCriminal byJustice's aInternet peaceweb officersite was not justifiablelater underthan sectionforty-eight 53a-22,hours orafter (2)the therecopies wasare aprovided failure to intervenethe inchief suchexecutive incidentofficer orand tothe reportcommissioner anyor suchchief incident, as required under subsection (a) of sectionpolice. 7-282e or section 18-81nn.

(c) The Office of the Inspector General shall prosecute any case in which the Inspector General determines that (1) the use of force by a peace officer was not justifiable under section 53a-22, or (2) there was a failure to intervene in such incident or to report any such incident, as required under subsection (a) of section 7-282e or section 18-81nn.

and [(5)] (6) make recommendations to the Police Officer Standards and Training CouncilsHB5428 established/ underFile section 7-294b concerning censure and suspension, renewal, cancelation or revocation of a peace officer's certification, provided in the case of a failure to report a death of a person, any such recommendation may be made to said council only in a case where such failure is found to be intentional or made with reckless indifference, or if there is no finding that such failure was LCO 4 of 6 Substitute Bill No.

5428599 intentional4 orsHB5428 madeFile withNo. reckless indifference, a recommendation may be made to the officer's employing agency for any further disciplinary action as so determined by such employing agency.

599 Council established under section 7-294b concerning censure and suspension, renewal, cancelation or revocation of a peace officer's certification, provided in the case of a failure to report a death of a person, any such recommendation may be made to said council only in a case where such failure is found to be intentional or made with reckless indifference, or if there is no finding that such failure was intentional or made with reckless indifference, a recommendation may be made to the officer's employing agency for any further disciplinary action as so determined by such employing agency.

(f) The Office of the Inspector General shall be at a location that is separate from the locations of the Office of the Chief State's Attorney or anysHB5428 of/ theFile state'sNo. attorneys for the judicial districts.

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599 any of the state's attorneys for the judicial districts.

Such staff shall be selected by the Inspector General within the confines of any existing collective bargaining agreement and LCOshall 5include, ofbut 6not Substitutebe Billlimited No.to, an assistant state's attorney or a deputy assistant state's attorney, an inspector and administrative staff.

5428 shall include, but not be limited to, an assistant state's attorney or a deputy assistant state's attorney, an inspector and administrative staff.

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599 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill, which makes clarifying and conforming changes to the powers and duties of the Office of the Inspector General, does not result in a fiscal impact as the changes largely align with current practice.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None sHB5428 / File No.

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599 OLR Bill Analysis sHB 5428 AN ACT CONCERNING THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

SUMMARY This bill makes several changes to requirements for the inspector general to investigate deaths that (1) involve peace officer use of physical or deadly force or (2) occur in the custody of a peace officer, law enforcement agency, or the Department of Correction (DOC).