Yarmouth Sgt. Sean Gannon was killed in 2018 by a career criminal with over a dozen arrests and 100 charges on his rap sheet.

On Thursday, after Gov. Charlie Baker rolled out a bill proposing reforms to how prosecutors and judges categorize someone as "dangerous," Yarmouth Police Chief Frank Frederickson called the bill "a big deal."

"It's about fairness," Frederickson said. "We ask with this current system we're working under, was that fair to the Tarentino family? Was it fair to the Gannon family? Was it fair to the Chesna family? And is it fair to Mrs. Adams and her family?"

Weymouth Sgt. Michael Chesna and bystander Vera Adams were shot in July by Emanuel Lopes, a twice-arrested 20-year-old man. Auburn Police Officer Ronald Tarentino was killed in 2016 by a man who also had previous run-ins with the law, including threatening State Police troopers.

Currently, a judge can hold a "dangerousness hearing" and incarcerate someone pre-trial if they are charged with specific crimes and under specific circumstances. Baker's bill would broaden the circumstances under which a criminal could be held as dangerous, rather than let out on bail.

Baker's bill would, for the first time, let judges consider someone's criminal history in deciding whether they are dangerous -- rather than considering just the crime they are currently in court for.

It would let the police arrest someone for breaking conditions of their release, rather than requiring the police to first obtain a court warrant. A person's bail could be revoked for violating a condition of release. The bill would expand the lists of crimes that could justify calling someone dangerous and let people be held for longer periods of time.

The bill would improve notification for victims when an offender is released and create a new felony offense of cutting off a court-ordered GPS monitoring device.

The bill would also let prosecutors, rather than just defense attorneys, appeal a judge's decision to release someone -- a policy that a number of Springfield officials have been pushing for.

Although the Legislature is unlikely to consider a major bill before they return in January, and lawmakers are expected to make major changes of their own, Baker is staking out his position as he moves into his general election campaign against Democrat Jay Gonzalez.

At a press conference announcing the bill, Baker said the bill "gives DAs and courts the full range of tools that would keep dangerous people off our streets."

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno has complained in the past that Springfield area trial judges have been granting low bail to repeat offenders, who return to the streets. Recently, some Republican lawmakers have been pushing for the removal of Salem Judge Timothy Feeley for doling out light sentences.

Baker said judges "are only going to be as good as the information that's in front of them."

"If we want hold judges more accountable, we need to create a toolbox that puts more information and better tools in front of them so they and the prosecution are in a position to do something about these issues that are currently off-limits," Baker said.

Bob Harnais, a defense attorney and past president of the Massachusetts Bar Association, said there has been a lot of criticism of judges based on decisions they made.

"What the public didn't understand was judges' hands were tied in many cases," Harnais said.

If the bill passes, Harnais said, judges will be able to make a "much more informed decision based on a person's past."

Boston Police Commissioner William Gross, who spoke at a press conference with Baker, said the reforms will "bring a sense of justice to our community and bring a sense of justice to the victims," and will go a long way toward eliminating situations where violent criminals are repeatedly released.