Booker, Durbin, Warnock, Butler, Markey, Hirono, Padilla, Duckworth, Warren Announce Reintroduction of George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) announced the reintroduction of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2024, the most comprehensive bill to reform law enforcement and strengthen police accountability in our country's history. The sweeping legislation was first introduced in 2020 in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is the first bill aimed at ending police brutality and changing the culture of law enforcement departments by holding police accountable in court for egregious misconduct, increasing transparency through better data collection, and improving police practices and training. The late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18) reintroduced companion legislation in the House earlier this year.

"The recent tragic death of Sonya Massey, a 36 year-old Black woman who was shot and killed in her home by a police officer, is a stark reminder that the time for comprehensive and common sense policing reform is overdue. Her life was cut short due to a system that fails to hold officers accountable for egregious misconduct.

"I've spent the better part of four years working to advance The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and policing reforms that make communities safer, and this legislation contains ideas that will increase transparency and accountability within our nation's policing system. We must advance legislation that holds law enforcement accountable for misconduct and ensures these tragedies never happen again. There is no law or policy or reform that will erase the decades of harm and loss communities of color have suffered, but this legislation is a chance to make meaningful changes that will improve police practices and make our nation safer, stronger, and more just," said Senator Booker.

"More than four years ago now, George Floyd died on the streets of Minneapolis with the knee of a police officer on his neck-an image that haunts me to this day. His murder ignited a much-needed American conversation around law enforcement training, inherent bias, use of force, and consequences for wrongdoing. But unfortunately, Congress was unable to pass any meaningful legislation to enact change," said Majority Whip Durbin. "Last month in my home state, Sonya Massey was shot and killed by a police officer in her own home after calling 9-1-1 for help. The senseless killing of Sonya Massey has once again drawn national attention to the lack of Congressional action that permits these kinds of killings to keep happening. The House did its job in 2020 and passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Senate Republicans refused to join Democrats to pass this meaningful police reform legislation. I urge my Republican colleagues to reconsider this time around and join us on a bipartisan basis to create safer communities for all Americans."

"Our communities won't truly know safety until it's paired with accountability," said Senator Reverend Warnock. "The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act takes a comprehensive approach towards building trust and respect between communities and law enforcement. This legislation, when paired with investments in education, anti-poverty, ending hunger, and creating good-paying jobs, will help ensure that all Georgians, regardless of their zip code, feel safe and secure. As someone who ministers to law enforcement members and fully supports public safety, I understand the importance of setting aside politics, centering people, and getting this done."

"The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act takes necessary steps to address discriminatory policing and violence, while also ensuring accountability. These actions will help create safer communities and establish trust between law enforcement and communities of color," said Senator Butler. "I thank Senator Booker for his leadership. It is long past time for Congress to pass this legislation and make sure that no more lives are lost to dangerous policing practices and racial bias."

"No one should have to fear for their safety when interacting with law enforcement," said Senator Hirono. "I'm proud to join my colleagues in introducing this legislation to strengthen police accountability and implement comprehensive changes to policing in America to help protect our communities."

"The reintroduction of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is a call to finally end the discrimination and excessive policing of people of color," said Senator Markey. "Our work to dismantle systemic racism in law enforcement departments starts with putting an end to deadly force and racial profiling. I am proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing this critical legislation that is one step in our long fight for true justice for every victim of racist violence in America."

"George Floyd, Sonya Massey, Breonna Taylor, and countless other victims of police brutality should all be alive today. Their murders are the product of a broken justice system that lacks accountability for the disproportionate use of force against Black and Brown Americans," said Senator Padilla. "We must honor their lives by combating systemic biases and continuing to demand justice through commonsense reforms like eliminating chokeholds, restricting no-knock warrants, ending racial profiling, and limiting qualified immunity for police officers committing violent acts."

"We cannot accept that in the United States of America we continue to bear witness to the tragic, preventable and all-too-common deaths of Black men and women at the hands of law enforcement-it is completely unacceptable and unjustifiable," Senator Duckworth said. "Families like Sonya Massey's, Laquan McDonald's, George Floyd's and Breonna Taylor's who have experienced heartbreak are no less deserving of justice than any other family, but too often they don't get it. I'm proud to join my colleagues in re-introducing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act today, and that provisions of my legislation to promote objective and independent investigations into the use of deadly force by police officers were included in this comprehensive police reform proposal. It's long past time our country acts to ensure accountability within our law enforcement agencies and provide justice to those who have lost loved ones."

Specifically, the Justice in Policing Act would:

1. Hold police accountable in our courts by:
2. 1. Amending the mens rea requirement in 18 U.S.C. Section 242, the federal criminal statute to prosecute police misconduct, from "willfulness" to a "knowlingly or recklessnessly" standard;
   2. Reforming qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that as currently interpreted shields law enforcement officers from being held legally liable for when they violate an individual's constitutional rights.
   3. 3. Improving the use of pattern and practice investigations at the federal level by granting the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division subpoena power and incentivizing independent investigative structures for police involved deaths through grants; and
3. Improve transparency into policing by collecting better and more accurate data of police misconduct and use-of-force by:
4. 1. Incentivizing police departments to report use of force information to the FBI Use of Force database, the National Decertification Index and National Law Enforcement Accountability Database
   2. Incentivizing police departments to check misconduct records in the National Decertification Index and National Law Enforcement Accountability Database before hiring officers
   3. Mandating state and local law enforcement agencies report use of force data, disaggregated by race, sex, disability, religion, age.
5. Improve police training and practices by:
6. 1. Ending racial and religious profiling;
   2. Mandating training on racial bias and the duty to intervene;
   3. Banning no-knock warrants in drug cases; Banning chokeholds and carotid holds;
   4. Changing the standard to evaluate whether law enforcement use of force was justified from whether the force was reasonable to whether the force was necessary;
   5. Limiting the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local law enforcement;
   6. Requiring federal uniformed police officers to wear body cameras; and
   7. Requiring state and local law enforcement to use existing federal funds to ensure the use of police body cameras
7. Establishing practices and programs to reduce negative police interactions and better use police resources through grants to:
8. 1. Establish programs that hire, employ, train, and dispatch mental health and social service professionals to respond to police calls involving individuals having a mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability, experiencing a mental health crisis; or under the influence of a legal or illegal substance
   2. Establish unarmed civilian government departments to enforce traffic violations.
   3. Establish local task forces to develop innovative law enforcement and non-law enforcement strategies to enhance just and equitable

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

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