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One year after George Floyd's murder, police reform remains a challenge

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Biden to meet privately with Floyd family as policing reform remains a challenge - ABC News (go.com)

President Joe Biden is set to meet with members of George Floyd's family at the White House Tuesday, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Floyd's death while in police custody in Minneapolis.

The meeting, which will happen behind closed doors at the White House, will provide an opportunity for Biden to have a "real conversation" with the family, press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.


But even as Biden will take in the family's hopes and concerns around police brutality, the political reality for Biden is a stark one: one year after an event he described as "a wake-up call to the nation" to address issues of policing reform and criminal justice, little has changed.

"We want something coming out of Washington. We want something that will change federal law," the Rev. Al Sharpton, an advocate of police reform and adviser to the Floyd family, said at a rally in Minneapolis Sunday. "There's been an adjournment on justice for too long. It's time for them to vote and make this the law."

Among those attending the White House meeting are Floyd's siblings Terrence, Philonise, Bridget and Rodney, as well as Floyd's daughter Gianna, who once told Biden her father would "change the world."

They're still discussing in Congress how to reform the police. The House passed a bill, but it's stalled in the Senate due to Republican opposition.

"It has been a long year. It has been a painful year," Floyd said. "It has been very frustrating for me and my family for our lives to change in the blink of an eye -- I still don't know why."

The House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in March. It aims to increase law enforcement accountability by ending no-knock warrants, banning chokeholds, creating a national registry for police misconduct and seeking to end qualified immunity. However, it has yet to be considered in the Senate, where it would need support from at least 10 Republicans to pass.

A trio of bipartisan lawmakers -- Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. -- have been engaged in negotiations over the legislation for weeks, working to bridge the divide between the House-passed Floyd bill, and a Republican-backed proposal Scott put forward in the wake of Floyd's death that Democrats rejected, arguing the legislation did not go far enough.

The president elevated the issue during his joint address to Congress -- his highest-profile remarks to date.

"My fellow Americans, we have to come together to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the people they serve, to root out systemic racism in our criminal justice system, and to enact police reform in George Floyd's name that passed the House already," Biden said in April. "We need to work together to find a consensus. But let's get it done next month, by the first anniversary of George Floyd's death."

Biden was hoping they would pass legislation by the anniversary of Floyd's death, but they missed that deadline.

The House bill aimed to "increase law enforcement accountability by ending no-knock warrants, banning chokeholds, creating a national registry for police misconduct and seeking to end qualified immunity."

Apparently, the main sticky point is ending qualified immunity.

The two sides have yet to find consensus over one of the thorniest disagreements -- the issue of so-called "qualified immunity" for police officers that would make it easier for civil lawsuits to be brought against them.

MORE: Policing reform talks hit setback over qualified immunity, but negotiators plow on

"They're continuing to have good discussions. And that is a positive sign. So, you know, we are not going to slow our -- slow our efforts to get this done. But, we can also be transparent about the fact that it's gonna take a little bit more time. That sometimes -- that happens, and that's OK," Psaki said.

The White House did not give an updated deadline on when it would like to see the bill passed, saying only that Biden would like to "sign it into law as quickly as possible."

I'm not sure why they're having a dispute over qualified immunity. As police officers and lawyers are so fond of saying, if they don't break the law, they have nothing to worry about.
 
Police need to be reformed. IMHO, they need to raise the standards to be a policeperson. Anyone with a license to kill needs to be fully vetted every year and needs to go through continuing education on interacting with the public. Citizens should not fear the police, they should see them as helpers and protectors. Paramilitary weapons and uniforms need to be stopped. They aren't fighting a war, they are protecting the countries citizens. Also, IMHO Police need to stop enforcing victimless crimes. They should not be used as a form of revenue, for goofy and unneeded traffic stops.
 

We Never Know

No Slack
Biden to meet privately with Floyd family as policing reform remains a challenge - ABC News (go.com)



They're still discussing in Congress how to reform the police. The House passed a bill, but it's stalled in the Senate due to Republican opposition.



Biden was hoping they would pass legislation by the anniversary of Floyd's death, but they missed that deadline.

The House bill aimed to "increase law enforcement accountability by ending no-knock warrants, banning chokeholds, creating a national registry for police misconduct and seeking to end qualified immunity."

Apparently, the main sticky point is ending qualified immunity.



I'm not sure why they're having a dispute over qualified immunity. As police officers and lawyers are so fond of saying, if they don't break the law, they have nothing to worry about.

According to the news Biden said he wants the "right bill" not a "rush bill".
 

averageJOE

zombie
Does anyone really think that Biden, who authored the racist 1994 Crime Bill, who coauthored the Patriot Act, who was the sitting VP when NDAA 1021 on 2012 was signed, and Kamala Harris, the self proclaimed California's Top Cop, who kept people in prison past their sentences to use as prison labor, who kept an innocent man on death row despite his innocence to actually reform police???

Biden/Harris are 100% Back the Blue all the way. If/when that George Floyd bill passes, ending or limiting qualified immunity will not be in it.
Clyburn says Democrats should not stall police reform talks over push for 'perfect' bill and ending qualified immunity - CNNPolitics

And in case anyone was paying attention, despite an entire year of people taking to the streets and demanding that we Defund the Police, AOC and other Squad members just voted to increase the Capitol Police Budget to $1.9 billion. That's Billion with a "B".
Squad Splits on Capitol Police Funding, Letting Bill Pass by One Vote
 

ImmortalFlame

Woke gremlin
Does anyone really think that Biden, who authored the racist 1994 Crime Bill, who coauthored the Patriot Act, who was the sitting VP when NDAA 1021 on 2012 was signed, and Kamala Harris, the self proclaimed California's Top Cop, who kept people in prison past their sentences to use as prison labor, who kept an innocent man on death row despite his innocence to actually reform police???

Biden/Harris are 100% Back the Blue all the way. If/when that George Floyd bill passes, ending or limiting qualified immunity will not be in it.
Clyburn says Democrats should not stall police reform talks over push for 'perfect' bill and ending qualified immunity - CNNPolitics

And in case anyone was paying attention, despite an entire year of people taking to the streets and demanding that we Defund the Police, AOC and other Squad members just voted to increase the Capitol Police Budget to $1.9 billion. That's Billion with a "B".
Squad Splits on Capitol Police Funding, Letting Bill Pass by One Vote
And they are STILL the party that is more likely to pass any kind of reform than the other main party, and are still the party so many people say want "lawlessness in the streets"...

America is screwed up.
 

George-ananda

Advaita Vedanta, Theosophy, Spiritualism
Premium Member
To me, police reform is way way down in importance. I think police do a great job almost all the time. How about reforming the kind of behavior that causes confrontations with police in the first place!

I am calling this crisis of policing a media attention grab exploiting whatever topic is hot at the moment. The race card is great for generating controversy even at the expense of creating a perception of a national sense of racial disharmony. This exaggeration then produces an actual perspective change.
 
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Heyo

Veteran Member
The House bill aimed to "increase law enforcement accountability by ending no-knock warrants, banning chokeholds, creating a national registry for police misconduct and seeking to end qualified immunity."
Wait ... They can do this?
Isn't policing a states matter? For some measures even down to the district?
 

Aštra’el

Aštara, Blade of Aštoreth
Instead of complaining about the police, or finding everyone but yourself to blame when things go wrong... how about teaching your children respect and discipline, and to not freak out on law enforcement personnel when being pulled over or arrested?

While you are at it, teach them to never do meth or fentanyl, and to not break into people’s homes and rob women at gunpoint.
 

Kooky

Freedom from Sanity
Instead of complaining about the police, or finding everyone but yourself to blame when things go wrong... how about teaching your children respect and discipline, and to not freak out on law enforcement personnel when being pulled over or arrested?

While you are at it, teach them to never do meth or fentanyl, and to not break into people’s homes and rob women at gunpoint.
This is an example for how the premise of a Just World fundamentally stands for little more than hierarchy, oppression and cruelty.

In a Just World, it is inconceivable that police officers would wrongfully hurt another human being, therefore, the victims of police violence must be to blame for the violence that was inflicted on them; the nurses, seniors, and innocent citizens caught up in the brutality of overzealous thugs must have been violent drug dealers, crazy robbers, or otherwise exercised some moral failure; how else could they have come to be the target of police beatings, after all? Clearly, the police has to be the real victim here, or else the World would be no longer Just.
 

ImmortalFlame

Woke gremlin
To me, police reform is way way down in importance. I think police do a great job almost all the time.
Ummm... no.

Overpolicing is a serious problem in America right now, with force being used in situations where it should have no place, police shootings still making headlines every week and studies show that there remains a significant racial bias in policing and outcomes of arrests.

How about reforming the kind of behavior that causes confrontations with police in the first place!
You're right! Instead of making sure the people we charge with the job of protecting us don't kill us, we should just end all crime!

I am calling this crisis of policing a media attention grab exploiting whatever topic is hot at the moment. The race card is great for generating controversy even at the expense of creating a perception of a national sense of racial disharmony. This exaggeration then produces an actual perspective change.
Again... no.

The racial disparity exists and has existed for years. Your insinutation that it wouldn't exist, or would be less significant, if the media didn't draw attention to it is not only demonstrably wrong but actively harmful.
 

Aštra’el

Aštara, Blade of Aštoreth
In a Just World, it is inconceivable that police officers would wrongfully hurt another human being, therefore, the victims of police violence must be to blame for the violence that was inflicted on them; the nurses, seniors, and innocent citizens caught up in the brutality of overzealous thugs must have been violent drug dealers, crazy robbers, or otherwise exercised some moral failure; how else could they have come to be the target of police beatings, after all? Clearly, the police has to be the real victim here, or else the World would be no longer Just.


Why do some people make it a contest over who is more “the victim”? Take responsibility for your own choices and behavior.
 
Why do some people make it a contest over who is more “the victim”? Take responsibility for your own choices and behavior.

I think that is what a lot of people are wanting the system/police to do. Why do you assume the system is ok and everyone else is "at fault"? Why do you not expect more accountability around someone that carries a gun and has a right to use it? IMHO, the system has been broken for a long time. Bad cops have become like bad priests, they have an inherent flawed system that covers up for them!!
 

Kooky

Freedom from Sanity
Why do some people make it a contest over who is more “the victim”?
Because muddying the water is the last resort of the defenders of the indefensible, the supporters of brutality and oppression, when neither arguments nor insults can achieve their goal.

Take responsibility for your own choices and behavior.
I agree, it's high time cops took responsibility for their own choices and behavior.
 

We Never Know

No Slack
Wait ... They can do this?
Isn't policing a states matter? For some measures even down to the district?

Supremacy Clause

Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution is commonly referred to as the Supremacy Clause. It establishes that the federal constitution, and federal law generally, take precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions. It prohibits states from interfering with the federal government's exercise of its constitutional powers, and from assuming any functions that are exclusively entrusted to the federal government. It does not, however, allow the federal government to review or veto state laws before they take effect.

Supremacy Clause.
 
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