NOTE: The Jaw Jacks series is intended to be Opinion Pieces. You may agree with them. You may disagree with them.

Over the course of the last year, and in light of the little sense-making Police Reform Movement, several states have seen the importance of not only increasing police powers but expanding their authorities to crackdown on violent demonstrators.

Everyone seemed to want to do policing better than the task was being done...until the crap hit the fan. Then, who was the first person they ran to with their tails tucked tightly between their legs to protect them? The very same police they wanted to reform.

These actions became necessary in view of the violent disturbances and widespread scenes of destruction in Portland, Minneapolis, and New York.

The sentiment for pushback was supported in Florida by State Representative Juan Fernandez-Barquin when he addressed an anti-riot bill in April 2021 and stated, "We have to strengthen our laws when it comes to mob violence, to make sure individuals are unequivocally dissuaded from committing violence when they're in large groups."

Keep in mind Florida is one of the states that have expanded police authorities and passed police reforms. Several other states have pushed back even further against the Police Reform Movement.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill to expand qualified immunity for the police and enhanced penalties for protesters. The bill also made rioting in Iowa a felony.

Iowa State Representative Jarad Klein summed the act up, "This is about protecting law enforcement and giving them the tools they need to keep our communities safe and showing them that we have their back."

Reynolds had introduced measures to ban racial profiling by police and establish a system for tracking racial data on police stops. Both were unceremoniously omitted by the new bill.

In Oklahoma, bills were created to ban chokeholds, provide uniform guidance for body cameras, and establish a database of police use of force incidents. Not one of these proponents received a single hearing.

What Oklahoma did pass was legislation granting immunity to drivers whose vehicles strike and injure protesters on public streets. Legislation that prevented the release of personal identifying information of law enforcement officers if the intent was to stalk, harass, or threaten them also passed.

In Wyoming, State Representative Karlee Provenza introduced a bill to prevent police officers who are terminated for misconduct from being hired by a different law enforcement agency. The bill failed to pass.

Wyoming is fairly well-known for its excellent job of vetted police officers, voluntarily reporting officers decertified to a national database, and following hiring standards in state laws.

Ohio and Kentucky have proposals that made taunting or filming police officers a criminal activity.

In the last year 25 states have passed a combined total of 67 police reforms. Thirteen states have enacted restrictions on the use of force, and eight states have created new laws that beefed up police officer reviews as well as internal investigations.

There are two sides to every coin. Which was the best one to follow when it came to police reforms? Or, did that bridge even need to be crossed?