Sweeping Police Reforms Proposed by Dems

Congressional Democrats are rolling out sweeping police reform legislation Monday after nearly two weeks of protests over George Floyd’s killing.

The proposed Justice in Policing Act of 2020 includes measures aimed at boosting law enforcement accountability, changing police practices and curbing racial profiling, the Washington Post reports.

“Persistent, unchecked bias in policing and a history of lack of accountability is wreaking havoc on the Black community,” reads a draft, which lists Floyd’s name along with those of other African Americans killed in encounters with officers.

The legislation is sponsored by Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA).

Some Republicans have expressed support for legislation to rein in police violence, but it remains to be seen whether they will support elements of the proposal offered by the Democrats.

House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) believes Congress “can easily find common ground,” NPR reports.

Referencing the House recess as a result of COVID-19, he also noted, “Members of Congress should not be called back for one week and say, ‘Here are all the bills.’”

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) expressed openness to the passage of new legislation, adding, “We’ll be talking to our colleagues about what, if anything, is appropriate for us to do in the wake of what’s going on.”

Despite Republican leaders’ willingness to discuss new legislation, Rep. Bass could not confirm any Republicans who support the bill as it stands.

As a result, its fate in the Republican Senate remains uncertain. Equally unclear is whether President Trump, who has supported law enforcement throughout his presidency and during the protests of the past few weeks, will support the bill’s passage.

Along with Republican Senators, the bill is likely to face stiff opposition from police unions and other law enforcement groups. These organizations have a track record of thwarting police reform, according to the New York Times.

For example, in 2014, then-President Barack Obama convened the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. In its 2015 report, the task force recommended six “pillars” for reform, the first of which was “building trust and nurturing legitimacy.” However, few law enforcement agencies have adopted these reforms.

The House Judiciary Committee plans a hearing Wednesday. The Senate Judiciary Committee will follow on June 16. The Democrats’ bill would make it easier to hold officers accountable for misconduct in court.

One proposal would change “qualified immunity,” the legal doctrine that shields officers from lawsuits, by lowering the bar for plaintiffs to sue officers for civil rights violations. Another would change federal law so that victims of excessive force need show only that officers “recklessly” deprived them of their rights.

Current law requires proof that officers’ actions were “willful.”

The bill would expand Justice Department’s powers to prosecute police misconduct, which the draft said had been “undermined by the Trump administration.” Other provisions seek to ban chokeholds, carotid holds and no-knock warrants in federal drug cases while pressuring states and municipalities to enact similar prohibitions by withholding funding.

The Act seeks to create a National Police Misconduct Registry to track police misconduct and prevent officers from switching jurisdictions to evade accountability. The bill would mandate racial bias and profiling training for all police officers and impose a duty to intervene.

It is important to note that the Minneapolis Police Department had a “duty to intervene” policy since 2016, yet three officers remained silent when Derek Chauvin placed his knee on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, ABC reports.

The bill also limits the transfer of military-grade weapons to state and local law enforcement agencies and mandates the use of body cameras.

TCR News Intern Michael Gelb contributed to this summary.



from The Crime Report https://ift.tt/3dL8LZo

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