WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rep. Greg Stanton today cosponsored a comprehensive reform bill to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement and repair trust between law enforcement and communities. The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 was introduced this morning by House leadership, members of the Congressional Black Caucus and House Judiciary Committee, and Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris.
“For far too long, Black Americans have experienced pain, anger and frustration with a system that has denied them equal justice under the law,” said Stanton. “We have a long way to go to fix long-standing, institutional biases and systemic racism. Every American has a responsibility to meet this historic challenge. And Congress must take this important step—the first of many—to ensure that no American faces greater danger simply because of the color of their skin.”
The bill includes measures to reform and improve police training and practices including mandatory racial bias training, body camera requirements for federal, state and local officers, limitations on the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local agencies, and a national use-of-force standard. It would also ban certain practices including “no-knock” warrants in drug cases, and chokeholds and carotid holds.
The bill would hold officers accountable for reckless misconduct in federal courts, including reforming qualified immunity, as well as improve transparency in policing by collecting better and more accurate data of police misconduct and use-of-force from state and local agencies. Finally, the bill would make lynching a federal hate crime for the first time in American history.
Stanton will participate in a House Judiciary Committee hearing on police brutality and racial profiling on Wednesday, June 10 at 10 a.m. EDT.