Thread by @michaelharriot

I know we are quick to dismiss him because he's a Republican but we should keep an eye on whatever @TimScottSC is working on.

I think I already know what he's working on and — I can't believe I'm saying this, but...

I agree with Tim Scott.

A thread:

Do you know how many people are killed by the police each year?

That was a rhetorical question because I don't either. No one does.

Even if you think you know, you're probably wrong.

See, most of the sources you see come from public news reports

@washingtonpost's "Fatal Force" database only counts SHOOTING deaths. For instance, George Floyd isn't listed. Neither is Eric Garner. Or Sandra Bland

They also don't count off-duty killings like Botham Jean's death

Every year, @TheRoot team up with @fatalencounters to do a more accurate count but it is really labor-intensive and time-consuming.

theroot.com/here-s-how-man…

That's still probably not right.

Why?

Because police don't have to tell us when they kill someone.

And think about this:

What about the police brutality victims who don't die? What about the people who are shot and paralyzed for life? What about people who just get choked unconscious? Who counts those people?

No one.

Well, in 2014, the Obama administration tasked the FBI with counting how many arrest-related deaths happened that year. When the Bureau of Justice Statistics issued its report, it found that the FBI had been under-reporting the number by an average of 545 deaths per year.

That number was wrong, too.

On April 4, 2015, North Charleston, SC police shot and killed Walter Scott during a traffic stop.

Protests ensued.

In 2015, @TimScottSC decided to do something about it. He wrote a standalone bill: The Walter Scott Notification Act.

It required every law enforcement agency in America to report all police shootings and deaths to the federal government. The information required from each state would include:

1. The victim’s name, race, age, & sex
2. The officer’s name, race, age, & sex
3. Whether the victim was armed or not
4. A description of the cop's weapon
5. A detailed description of the event
6. Whether the shooting was ultimately justified or not

Scott's OWN PARTY said no

The next year, @TimscottSC attempted to attach it to funding legislation, it failed. In 2017, it failed again.

So, in a last-ditch attempt, as the First Step Act worked its way through the Senate in December 2018, Scott attempted to slide it in as an amendment.

Before we continue here's what you should know about the provisions in the First Step Act that set all those incarcerated ppl free.

When Obama tried to do the same thing, Republicans fought that, too.

See, the First Step Act simply made Obama's 2012 CJR bill retroactive.

The only reason Obama's 2012 law passed that reduced the sentencing disparities between crack and wypipo cocaine was because the GOP only agreed to pass it if the provisions weren't retroactive, much to the dismay of advocates like the @ACLU and @ColorOfChange

Then, when Trump got in office, the GOP made them retroactive in the First Step Act.

BUT they also refused to include @TimScottSC's Walter Scott Notification amendment.

So he stopped trying.

Now, as the only black Republican in the Senate, of course the GOP is asking the black dude to fix white supremacy.

But Tim Scott is black. He knows.

Which begs the question:

How the hell would the Walter Scott Notification Act enforce this policy?

Well, the provision would basically withhold or withdraw federal funds from any law enforcement agency that didn't report police shootings.

Wait... this reminds me of something we already talked about. But instead of giving my angry negro opinion, let's ask an expert.

Hey @MerriamWebster, what's the definition of "Defund?"

And that's how white supremacy works.

Before police kneeled on George Floyd's neck...Before cops shot Breonna Taylor... The ONLY Senate Republican who was advocating for police reform was a black man.

No one was willing to listen to the black guy even though he knew there was a problem...Even though he tried FOR YEARS to tell them the answer.

And what was his solution?

#DefundThePolice