“Never again should the world be subjected to witnessing what we saw on the streets of Minneapolis: the slow murder of an individual by a uniformed police officer,” said Rep. Karen Bass, a California Democrat and the leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, at a news conference announcing the effort.
The legislation, titled the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, includes a series of measures aimed at increasing police accountability, barring racial profiling and increasing transparency surrounding officers’ actions.
It would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants at the federal level, limit the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local law enforcement officials, and require state and local law enforcement agencies to report use of force data broken down by race and other characteristics.
“This legislation makes it clear that police departments are serving and are answerable to all the residents in their communities, including African Americans,” U.S. House Majority Leader Steny, D-Md., said.
1/ Led by @TheBlackCaucus, House and Senate Democrats today unveiled the Justice in Policing Act of 2020.
I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of this bold bill that would: pic.twitter.com/POdpxy45HY
— Congressman Dwight Evans (@RepDwightEvans) June 8, 2020