Rep. Cleaver Joins Congressional Democrats to Introduce Transformative Police Reform Legislation

Press Release

Today, Congressional Democrats introduced the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, an historic piece of legislation that would transform the nation's policing policies and begin to create structural reform in the United States Justice System. United States Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) joined with over 200 House and Senate Democrats to support the legislation as an original cosponsor, which was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

"In the past week the American people have made one thing abundantly clear: The time for change has come," said Congressman Cleaver. "I've heard from countless Missourians of all stripes who want to see substantive changes to our system of justice which has disproportionately harmed the Black community for decades. With this piece of legislation, we are taking the initial steps needed to create concrete changes that will lead to a more just and equitable system for all."

Following the murder of George Floyd by officers from the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25, civil demonstrations began throughout the United States. Last week, demonstrations were held in every state in the union, even sparking protests in other nations around the globe, with activists demanding systemic changes to the U.S. justice system. The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 is the first comprehensive legislative package introduced by the CBC and Congressional Democrats following the outpouring of calls for reform.

The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 would:

Hold police accountable in our courts by reforming qualified immunity so that individuals are not entirely barred from recovering damages when police violate their constitutional rights; improving the use of patterns and practices investigations at the federal level; and incentivizing states to create independent investigative structures for police involved deaths through grants
Improve transparency by collecting better and more accurate data of police misconduct and use-of-force, including a National Police Misconduct Registry to prevent problem-officers from changing jurisdictions to avoid accountability; and mandating state and local law enforcement agencies to report use of force data, disaggregated by race, sex, disability, religion, and age.
Improve police training and practices by ending racial and religious profiling; mandating training on racial bias and the duty to intervene; banning no-knock warrant in drug cases; banning chokeholds and carotid holds; requiring federal uniformed police officers to wear body cameras; and lowering the standard to evaluate whether law enforcement use of force was justified.
Make lynching a federal crime
"The public is sick and tired of turning on the nightly news to see yet another African American killed at the hands of law enforcement," Congressman Cleaver continued. "We cannot continue to kick the can down the road as more Black men and women fall victim to police brutality and racial profiling. The American people are pleading for comprehensive, common sense reforms, and, as their representatives in the United States Congress, it's time that we heeded their calls."

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