Congressman Steven Horsford Releases Statement on Passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act | Congressman Steven Horsford
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Congressman Steven Horsford Releases Statement on Passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

March 3, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Steven Horsford voted to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to improve community policing, stop the use of excessive force, and strengthen trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

"The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others have shown the urgent need to address systemic racism and improve relationships between law enforcement and communities of color," said Congressman Steven Horsford. "The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act will invest in anti-bias training and community policing, establish a national standard for law enforcement, and streamline federal law to stop the use of excessive force. These reforms are supported by many within the law enforcement community, and they will save lives. I hope the Senate will take swift action to pass this historic legislation so President Biden can sign it into law."

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is a bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, end racial profiling, empower our communities, and build trust between law enforcement and our communities by addressing systemic racism and bias to help save lives.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act will:

Work to End Racial & Religious Profiling

  • Prohibits federal, state, and local law enforcement from racial, religious, and discriminatory profiling.
  • Mandates training on racial, religious, and discriminatory profiling for all law enforcement.
  • Requires law enforcement to collect data on all investigatory activities.

Save Lives by Banning Chokeholds & No-Knock Warrants

  • Bans chokeholds and carotid holds at the federal level and conditions law enforcement funding for state and local governments banning chokeholds.
  • Bans no-knock warrants in drug cases at the federal level and conditions law enforcement funding for state and local governments banning no-knock warrants at the local and state level.
  • Requires that deadly force be used only as a last resort and requires officers to employ de-escalation techniques first.

Limit Military Equipment on American Streets & Requires Body Cameras

  • Limits the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local law enforcement.
  • Requires federal uniformed police officers to wear body cameras and requires state and local law enforcement to use existing federal funds to ensure the use of police body cameras.
  • Requires marked federal police vehicles to have dashboard cameras.

Hold Lawbreakers Accountable in Court

  • Lowers the barriers to prosecute law enforcement officers who violate constitutional rights.
  • This legislation does not remove the substantial legal protections for law enforcement officers who are acting properly and abiding by their oaths to protect and serve.

Investigate and Root out Misconduct

  • Improves the use of pattern and practice investigations at the federal level by granting the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division subpoena power and creates a grant program for state attorneys general to develop authority to conduct independent investigations into police departments with patterns of rights violations.

Empower Our Communities to Reimagine Public Safety in an Equitable and Just Way

  • This bill reinvests in our communities by supporting critical community-based programs to change the culture of law enforcement and empower our communities to reimagine public safety in an equitable and just way.
  • It establishes public safety innovation grants for community-based organizations to create local commissions and task forces to help communities to re-imagine and develop concrete, just, and equitable public safety approaches. These local commissions would operate similar to President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

Change the Culture of Law Enforcement with Training to Build Integrity and Trust

  • Requires the creation of law enforcement accreditation standard recommendations based on President Obama's Taskforce on 21st Century policing.
  • Creates law enforcement development and training programs to develop best practices.
  • Studies the impact of laws or rules that allow a law enforcement officer to delay answers to questions posed by investigators of law enforcement misconduct.
  • Enhances funding for pattern and practice discrimination investigations and programs managed by the DOJ Community Relations Service.
  • Requires the Attorney General to collect data on investigatory actions and detentions by federal law enforcement agencies; the racial distribution of drug charges; the use of deadly force by and against law enforcement officers; as well as traffic and pedestrian stops and detentions.
  • Establishes a DOJ task force to coordinate the investigation, prosecution, and enforcement efforts of federal, state, and local governments in cases related to law enforcement misconduct.

Improve Transparency by Collecting Data on Police Misconduct and Use-of-Force

  • Creates a nationwide misconduct registry to prevent problematic officers who are fired or leave one agency, from moving to another jurisdiction without any accountability.
  • Mandates state and local law enforcement agencies to report use of force data, disaggregated by race, sex, disability, religion, age.

Stop Sexual Assault in Law Enforcement Custody

  • Makes it a crime for a federal law enforcement officer to engage in a sexual act with an individual who is unable to consent because they are under arrest, in detention, or in custody.
  • Prohibits consent as a defense to prosecution for unlawful conduct and incentivizes states to set the same standards.

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MEDIA CONTACT
Geneva Kropper | Geneva.Kropper@mail.house.gov | 202-849-0251