Today, I'm in Washington Working on The Justice in Policing Act of 2020

June 18, 2020

Dear Friends,

Today, I'm in Washington, D.C. working to get the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 out of Judiciary Committee and to the House floor for a full vote.

Not only am I proud to be a co-sponsor of Justice in Policing, but many of my policy and legislative priorities are directly reflected in the bill – H.R. 7120 – including my Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, which was cut and pasted into this bill.

This transformative legislation to reimagine the culture of policing in America is a good first step by curbing police brutality, ending racial profiling, eliminating qualified immunity for law enforcement and building greater trust between law enforcement and our communities.

But there's more we can do, including reforming the grand jury system and eliminating cooling off periods, to level the playing field when trying to hold bad officers accountable.

And nowhere has our pain been greater than in Georgia, where a former police officer was part of a posse that gunned down Ahmaud Arbery while he was jogging in Brunswick earlier this year and where, more recently, Rayshard Brooks was shot in the back twice after trying to flee officers arresting him for being asleep in his car at a drive-thru lane at a Wendy's.

This sweeping legislation will take numerous key steps to achieve transformative, structural change to combat the pattern of police brutality and racial injustice, including:

• Banning all chokeholds;

• Banning no-knock warrants in drug cases;

• Banning racial, religious and discriminatory profiling;

• Eliminating the qualified immunity doctrine that is a barrier to holding police officers accountable for wrongful conduct;

• Establishing a National Police Misconduct Registry to improve transparency and prevent problematic officers who are fired or leave one agency, from moving to another jurisdiction without any accountability;

• Requiring data collection, including mandatory body cameras and dashboard cameras;

• Establishing new standards for policing and the Public Safety Innovation grants for community-based organizations to help reimagine policing in their communities;

• Making lynching a federal hate crime; and more.

Enlightened legislation isn't going to solve all our policing and national problems – from systemic racism to police violence against Black & Brown people – we have to change our culture. It's no longer enough to be tolerant of others, we must be truly inclusive of everyone.

Below you can find quick links to resources that can help you, your family and your business get through this ongoing pandemic.

As always, I appreciate your time and feedback. Please remember you can reach me and get good information on my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages by clicking the icons at the top of this e-letter. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to represent you in Congress. Please continue following CDC guidelines.

Issues:Justice & Court Reform