This week, I was proud to cosponsor the #JusticeInPolicingAct. This is the most far reaching attempt in decades to reform policing in America and to rebuild trust between police and the communities they are sworn to protect. It is long overdue.
Our bill would:
- Ban racial profiling
- Ban chokeholds & require body cams
- Empower the Justice Department to investigate & correct police misconduct
- Make it easier to hold abusive officers accountable, and, if they're fired, to keep them from getting rehired elsewhere.
The bill places strict limits on transfers of military equipment to law enforcement. I want local cops look like cops, not like the 82nd Airborne parachuting into a war zone. I will also fight for additional safeguards against enlisting the military to police dissent.
We have this chance because the overwhelming majority of Americans saw what happened to George Floyd, and understand it is part of a pattern of racial bias that requires comprehensive reform, not just the punishment of a few bad cops who were caught on video.
I'm glad that Republican leaders in Congress have thus far indicated they want to work with us, and that the Fraternal Order of Police has said we should not let this opportunity for change pass us by. insidernj.com/press-release/…
Many activists rightly ask us to reimagine the role police play in our country, and whether we make police do too much, like respond to mental health crises. Our bill funds local efforts to shift priorities & training, and promotes tactics that deescalate violent situations.
That said, I don't think "defund the police" is a good slogan or idea. Smaller forces would more likely take on a bunker mentality, focusing on self protection rather than the community policing tactics that earn trust. Wealthy communities would just pay for private cops.
Remember - it is Congressional Republicans who are trying to defund the police, by continuing to block the HEROES Act. That bill is all about helping state and local governments keep first responders on the job. They have zero standing to demagogue this issue.
There is a reason I invited the daughter of a fallen police officer to be my guest for this year's State of the Union. I respect anyone who spends his or her life doing a dangerous job to protect others. Let's honor those who uphold this ideal and hold accountable all who do not.
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