The fight for transparency continues: Three months after Michael Bell's law was signed, is it working?

KENOSHA (WITI) -- The fight for transparency continues for Michael Bell Sr. His son was killed by Kenosha police in 2004. It has been three months since a new law went into effect -- requiring law enforcement officials to have an outside agency investigate any in-custody deaths. So does Bell think the new law is working?

On April 23rd, 2014, Assembly Bill 409 became law. It happened in a private ceremony in Madison.

"I mean it was, it was like the fourth quarter, with two minutes left and we kicked a field goal and we won the game," Bell said.

From that point on, if a Wisconsin officer shoots and kills someone, a law enforcement agency cannot investigate itself.

The new law has been applied twice in southeastern Wisconsin since it was signed.

A Milwaukee police officer shot and killed Dontre Hamilton on April 30th. Hamilton is accused of taking an officer's baton during a scuffle in Red Arrow Park.

On July 6th, Racine police shot and killed Rajko Utvic -- who was allegedly threatening police with a knife.

"The implementation of the bill, kind of too early to tell what the departments are doing. They are going to have to look at what their policies and procedures and say,  are we in compliance or not? So that is one thing we are going to be watching," Bell said.

Bell says he's also watching to make sure departments inform victim's families of their rights after a fatal shooting -- another part of the new law.

"Information regarding what their recourses are," Bell said.

It took almost 10 years of fighting to get the law passed, and a long time ago, Bell became the voice for other families.

Bell says people from across the country continue to learn about what's only happening in Wisconsin.

"I think I've said this from the beginning -- I'm just trying to serve the greater good of the whole," Bell said.

There has been no outside ruling yet on the death of Dontre Hamilton.

On Monday, Racine's District Attorney announced the shooting death of Utvic was justified.

Meanwhile, the ACLU is speaking out on Racine's officer-involved shooting -- saying the public deserves to know more.

A statement issued by the ACLU of Wisconsin reads as follows:

The ACLU of Wisconsin is responding to a finding that a mentally ill man killed by Racine Police “bears total culpability for this deadly force confrontation.” Racine Police officers (who have not been indentified) shot and killed Mr. Rajko Utvic of Racine on July 6, 2014.

In a letter released Monday, Racine County District Attorney W. Richard Chiapete commended the City of Racine Police Department and thanked the Racine County Sheriff’s Office for their handling of the investigation into Mr. Utvic’s death.

“The ACLU of Wisconsin believes the public deserves to know more before putting all the blame on an individual suffering from mental illness,” said ACLU of Wisconsin executive director, Chris Ahmuty. “District Attorney Chiapete’s letter to Racine Police Chief Howell does not sufficiently address this incident,” he continued.

District Attorney Chiapete wrote, “Mr. Utvic left officers with no other alternatives.” The ACLU wants to know more. For instance, did any of the officers on the scene have crisis intervention training? Why didn’t the officers just step back to deescalate the situation?

The ACLU of Wisconsin, in a letter from ACLU of Wisconsin Executive Director Chris Ahmuty to Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling, has requested a copy of his investigators’ report. Perhaps the investigators report answers these important questions. Investigators are required under a new state statute to release their report if the District Attorney finds that there are no grounds to bring criminal charges against the officers.

The Wisconsin Legislature in April adopted a law requiring that an independent investigator lead an investigation into officer-involved deaths. The new law follows a number of officer-involved deaths in Wisconsin, including deaths in Kenosha, Madison, and Milwaukee.