Posted on 06/08/2020 8:58:28 AM PDT by robowombat
Democrats unveil sweeping legislation in response to protests of police brutality
BY MIKE LILLIS AND SCOTT WONG - 06/08/20 11:12 AM EDT
Democrats in both chambers introduced sweeping reforms on Monday designed to combat racial disparities in the criminal justice system — the party’s much awaited legislative response to recent police violence against African Americans that's sparked mass protests across the country and beyond.
Crafted by leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Justice in Policing Act aims to rein in the use of excessive force by law enforcers, particularly the violence targeting blacks and other minorities, who die disproportionately at the hands of police.
The package — the most aggressive crack down on law enforcement to arrive in decades — would establish a federal ban on chokeholds, eliminate the legal shield protecting police from lawsuits, mandate the use of body cameras nationwide, ban military-style weapons for police and create a national database disclosing the names of officers with patterns of abuse.
It also includes a bill passed by the House earlier this year that would make lynching a federal hate crime.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats rolled out the legislation Monday morning, immediately after they held a moment of silence and took a knee in the Capitol Visitors Center for 8 minutes and 46 seconds — the exact time that a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on the neck of a handcuffed African American man, George Floyd, before he died.
Democratic leaders framed the reforms as a crucial and long-overdue remedy to racial injustices in law enforcement, which they described as a systemic plague rooted in hundreds of years of slavery, bigotry and cultural bias.
“When George Floyd called out for his mother, when he was subjected to that knee in the neck, it was just a continuation of some horror that has existed in our country for a very long time,” said Pelosi, flanked by other Democratic leaders and Black Caucus members.
Behind Pelosi, Democrats want to pass the legislation through the House before the end of the month, setting up a battle with Republicans in the Senate and White House, who are already voicing concerns that the proposal goes too far to limit the powers of police to fight crime.
Indeed, Attorney General William Barr on Sunday rejected the notion that the nation’s criminal justice system suffers from widespread racial prejudice — "I don’t think that the law enforcement system is systemically racist,” he told CBS’s “Face the Nation” — revealing that the parties are not agreed on the problem, let alone a legislative solution.
President Trump has adopted a hard-line approach to crime and punishment — a self-proclaimed “law and order” president — and even as Democrats were introducing their proposed limits on policing, Trump was preparing to meet later in the day at the White House with local, state and federal law enforcers.
The proposal comes in direct response to the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man killed in the custody of the Minneapolis police exactly two weeks ago. The officer who pinned Floyd to the street, Derek Chauvin, as Floyd pleaded that he could not breathe is now facing murder charges.
Floyd's death, filmed by a bystander, was just the latest in a string of similar killings around the country, and it led to an explosion of protests in cities large and small, where marchers of all races have taken to the streets in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Never again should the world be subjected to witnessing what we saw on the streets in Minneapolis, the slow murder of an individual by a uniformed police officer,” said Black Caucus Chairwoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.). “The world is witnessing the birth of a new movement in our country. This movement has now spread to many nations around the world with thousands marching to register their horror and hearing the cry: ‘I can't breathe.’”
Amid the debate, some liberal Democrats are pushing for a much more drastic response to Floyd’s death: defunding police departments altogether. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D), who represents parts of Minneapolis, has called for the department that employed Chauvin to be disbanded.
“The Minneapolis Police Department has proven themselves beyond reform,” Omar tweeted. “It’s time to disband them and reimagine public safety in Minneapolis."
Pelosi, Schumer kneel in silence for almost 9 minutes to honor George... This week: Democrats introduce sweeping police reform package Republicans have pounced on the defund-police movement, characterizing it as an anarchist proposal that would empower criminals without solving underlying problems related to police disparities.
In an email Monday morning, the House GOP’s campaign arm called the defund movement the “latest insane idea” proposed by the Democratic Party. Republicans are now pressing every vulnerable Democrat on whether they back defunding or cutting funds from police departments.
“No industry is safe from the Democrats’ abolish culture,” said Michael McAdams, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “First they wanted to abolish private health insurance, then it was capitalism and now it’s the police. What’s next, the fire department?”
Jump back just a few years, and every editor would flag this as a botched sentence. "Oh, you don't mean a crackdown on law enforcement, you mean a crackdown on crime".
But, No. We don't fight crime anymore. Crime is good. We cheer for the Looters now. In the current climate, we crack down on law enforcement. You know: the Bad Guys.
Correct on both counts.
Plus this: if you abolish police departments, what’s the point of regulating them?
Pelosi is the new face of a cheese eating surrender monkey.
Why not end qualified immunity all together?
Like against mayors of sanctuary cities for the death and rapes they have caused?
Like against IRS employees who targeted political groups they don’t agree with.
FBI agents who target political candidates they don’t agree with.
Govenors who force nursing homes to accept covid patients and kill thousands
This is going to be fun.
Really glad I don’t live in Minneapolis. But I know this lawlessness will spread, because the lawless have a big voice right now.
This is a great way to lose the middle class and upper middle class voters.
Maybe Congress and legislatures should pass laws making law breaking illegal, that way three won’t be a racial disparity of violations.... Oh, wait.
Maybe Congress and legislatures ought to consider the fact that a small segment of the population commits a majority of the crimes. Suck it up.
We have fully integrated police and law enforcement, as well the judicial system and the only thing left is to look at the sources of criminality and start there. Thanks Dixiecrats and leftists everywhere, policy for a century has brought us to where we are.
“...Pelosi is the new face of a cheese eating surrender monkey....”
The vile, demonic Botoxian and its Shumck just took a knee and bowed.
I’m tickled they did this in public...the optics are great!!!
NOW, the mainstream, law-abiding public can see who they really support and worship...and it ain’t law-abiding, mainstream America.
Correct.
The Dims are always harping on Civil Rights and ignoring States Rights.
There is absolutely no verbiage in the Constitution giving the Federal government the power to regulate Police forces within the States.
Amid the debate, some liberal Democrats are pushing for a much more drastic response to Floyd’s death: defunding police departments altogether. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D), who represents parts of Minneapolis, has called for the department that employed Chauvin to be disbanded.
Who is responsible for selecting and training of all the police in the state? Who hired the Chief of police? Who elected the Mayor, AG, Governor?
If it is really systematic you should sack the entire State Government. Actually, they should all resign in shame.
Should the world be subjected to witnessing what we saw on the streets of St. Louis when a retired black police captain was murdered by a ANTIFA terrorist?
Enquiring voters want to know.
Guessing those black numbers for Biden aren’t looking too good right now
The 10th Amendment might as well be written in hexadecimal - the Rats can’t read it or understand it. They want an omnipotent Federal government that they run.
Their echo chamber full of virtue signaling deviants has finally alienated almost all of America.
Why don’t they first reform the FBI?
Should the world be subjected to witnessing what we saw on the streets of St. Louis when a retired black police captain was murdered by a ANTIFA terrorist?
/s
You bring up an interesting point.
How many people are considering moving to Minneapolis?
How many people were considering and have now changed their mind?
How many Minneapolis residents are thinking of leaving?
How many people will avoid Minneapolis for business/leisure?
Point taken.
I stand (er, sit) corrected.
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