Guest Editorial: Renew push for police reform

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., speaks with reporters while calling for police reform, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 7. At left is Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio. — AP Photo/Cliff Owen

When President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address last Tuesday he asked lawmakers to work with him on police reform.

“All of us in this chamber, we need to rise to this moment,” said Biden, alluding to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which has been stalled in congress. “We can’t turn away. Let’s do what we know in our hearts we need to do. Let’s come together and finish the job on police reform.”

During the president’s address, he put a spotlight on the horrific police killing in Memphis, Tennessee, which has brought renewed focus on excessive police force.

The parents of Tyre Nichols, who was severely beaten by police officers in Memphis and later died, were in the audience as Biden made his remarks.

The 29-year-old was brutally beaten Jan. 7 by Memphis police after he was pulled over for a traffic stop and died three days later.

Also attending the address were Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, who died after a New York police officer placed him in a banned chokehold, and Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, whose 2020 death at the hands of Minneapolis police sparked global multiracial protests against excessive police force.

They were among the mothers and fathers and siblings of Black people killed by police invited to attend Biden’s State of the Union address as guests of the Congressional Black Caucus.

In addition to the guests, some lawmakers wore a black button emblazoned with the year 1870, referring to the first known police officer killing an unarmed, free Black person in the United States.

“Philadelphia police chased and shot Henry Truman on March 31, 1870, the same year the nation adopted the 15th Amendment, giving Black men the right to vote,” reports the Washington Post.

“The pins, distributed by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D., N.J.) are intended to represent ‘how history has repeated itself once again,’ according to a note attached to the pins.”

Police brutality and excessive force will continue to be repeated if there is no accountability and no consequences for police misconduct.

That’s why it is somewhat encouraging that members of the Congressional Black Caucus left a meeting with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday with an agreement on how to address the issue of policing in America.

Rep. Steven Horsford, the chairman of the Black Caucus, told reporters “the focus will always be on public safety.” The group of Black lawmakers did not disclose details about the agreement made in the room but said there will be more information about the legislative package in the days ahead.

While the president has used an executive order to push for reform it mostly focuses on federal agencies by requiring them to review and revise policies on the use of force. The administration is also encouraging local departments to participate in a database to track police misconduct.

However, an executive order is no substitute for federal legislation. Biden must make a deal with Republican lawmakers, that in exchange for increased funding for police, they must back significant police reforms including the widespread use of body cameras, mandatory de-escalation training and legislation making it easier to sue officers for misconduct.

(Reprinted from The Philadelphia Tribune)

About Post Author

Comments

From the Web

Skip to content