PRESS RELEASE
Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced passage of H.R. 7120, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. The bill, cosponsored by Higgins, advances comprehensive and substantial policies to increase police accountability, add public transparency, re-build trust in our communities and save lives.
Higgins said, “It is a basic function of government to keep the peace and protect the public. But, for most of our country’s history, Black Americans have not felt the benefits of this protection. Recent events have exposed how widespread and urgent of a change is needed. The Justice in Policing Act begins to deliver that change.”
Highlights of the Justice in Policing Act include:
- Prohibiting racial, religious and discriminatory profiling, and mandating training
- Banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants
- Requiring officers employ de-escalation techniques
- Creating the National Police Misconduct Registry to compile data on complaints and records of police misconduct
- Requiring body cameras and dashboard cameras
- Ending qualified immunity for law enforcement
- Mandating state and local law enforcement agencies report use of force data that includes race, sex, disability, religion, age
This bill also establishes public safety innovation grants for community-based organizations to create task forces to help communities develop concrete, just and equitable public safety approaches.
The Justice in Policing Act has over 230 co-sponsors and broad community support including, but not limited to: AFL-CIO, American College of Physicians, National Urban League, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Education Association, and the YWCA.
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