Demand Comprehensive Police Reform

In the wake of yet another brutal murder at the hands of police officers, we are again reminded that police reform must be a primary goal of our federally elected officials. In both the 116th and 117th Congresses, major police reform legislation passed in the House but died in the Senate due to gridlock. This failure cannot continue as more lives are unnecessarily lost.

This piece of twice-passed House legislation comprised of the most comprehensive reforms to policing in over 50 years. The legislation was designed to address the “persistent unchecked bias in policing” and “a history of a lack of accountability” that is wreaking havoc in black communities.

The legislation would have:

• reformed qualified immunity for police officers to allow individuals to recover damages when their constitutional rights are violated;

• established a National Police Misconduct Registry to track police misconduct and thwart officers from switching jurisdictions to avoid accountability;

• banned the use of choke-holds;

• mandated training on racial bias and the duty to intervene;

• amended the U.S. Code to lower the legal standard of “mens rea”, making prosecution of misconduct easier;

• placed limits the transfer of military-grade weapons to state and local law enforcement agencies and requiring the use of body cameras;

• empowered state attorneys general and the Justice Department to play a much larger role in its oversight of police agencies;

• allowed the federal government to restrict funding for state and local police agencies that fail to adopt the policies and training aimed at combating racial bias and profiling; and

• banned"no-knock" warrants in drug-related cases.

Demand your members of Congress reintroduce, cosponsor, support, and pass meaningful police reform legislation now before more lives are lost. While legislation alone will not solve the problem of systemic racism inherent in modern policing, placing limits on power will go a long way to restrain unchecked violence in black communities.