George Floyd’s tragic death spurred national protests and calls to action. Activists have demanded legislation to defund the police, or at the very least, to introduce policy that will reform the way police departments will be able to run. After several months of back and forth, a police reform bill named after George Floyd has been passed in the House.
The bill’s most important aspects include its banning of chokeholds and of no-knock warrants in cases with drugs, in addition to its qualified immunity reformation. It also provides grants for states that set procedures for looking into police-involved deaths, creates a National Police Misconduct Registry, requires data on force, requires racial bias training, and provides incentives to state attorney generals for investigating police departments.
Although the bill’s passing in the House is reason to celebrate for many, it is important to note the unlikelihood of its passing in the Senate. Democrats hold a slight majority in the Senate, but 60 people are needed for the legislation to pass. There are simply not enough Democrats for the bill to pass, as 10 Republicans would have to vote in support of it. This is quite unlikely, as not a single Republican voted in favor of the bill in the House, with even two Democrats joining the Republicans in voting against its passing.
The partisan divide has seemed to have grown stronger; last summer, two Republicans had voted in favor of a similar version of the bill. Conservatives argue that the bill would tie up police departments with too many regulations, and would weaken police from being able to do their job effectively. Liberals assert that legislation to hold police accountable is vital at a time when the nation has witnessed innumerable accounts of police brutality.
For now, the U.S. will have to wait and see what the politicians in D.C. vote on. For news several times a week, keep up with our blog, and contact CIMA Law Group here.
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