June 11, 2020
House Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Policing
In response to the death of George Floyd and the riots rippling through the country, this past Monday many Democratic members of the House and Senate knelt in the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall for 8 minutes and 48 seconds; the amount of time Floyd was held before he was killed. They were seen wearing Kente cloths, which drew some criticism. As Jade Bentil, a Ghanaian-Nigerian researcher at the University of Oxford tweeted: “My ancestors did not invent Kente cloth for them to be worn by publicity (obsessed) politicians as ‘activism’ in 2020.”
This show set up the announcement of the partisan Democratic bill, the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (H.R. 1721). The legislation’s provisions include a chokehold ban, the elimination of qualified immunity, and a requirement that law enforcement agencies report the use of force data by race, sex, disability, religion, and age.
It has been reported that Republicans were ousted from conversations regarding the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (H.R. 1721). Representative Greg Steube (R-FL) said,
“As a Member of the Judiciary Committee, a lawyer, and former JAG Officer, I was not included in the drafting of this bill and neither were any of my Republican colleagues. This was a partisan attempt by House Democrats to message to their progressive base and not come up with bipartisan solutions that would actually help unify the country.”
If Democrats really take reforming seriously, they must include Republicans. In leaving them out, they failed to allow many Americans representation in the conversation. Yet, Speaker Pelosi said that she expects the legislation to move quickly. And, just two days after its introduction, the House Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing entitled, “Policing Practices and Law Enforcement Accountability” on Wednesday, June 10th.
Floyd’s younger brother Philonise Floyd was the first witness. He said:
“I’m here today to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain. Stop us from being tired,” Floyd said. “George’s calls for help were ignored. Please listen to the call I’m making to you now, to the calls of our family, and to the calls ringing out in the streets across the world.”
The hearing also touched on the idea of defunding the police. Surprisingly, many top Democrats shied away from this idea or have squashed it completely. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) said, “You can’t defund the police, that’s stupid, it’s crazy and anyone who talks about that is nuts. You have to have the police.” Even with these views made public, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio diverted funds from their police departments.
Garcetti and de Blasio should heed the advice of Houston Police Chief and hearing witness Art Acevedo. He explained that “there is no denying that changes in policing must be made,” but [he also] argued in favor of reforming police departments instead of defunding them.”
Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA) is correct when he pointed out that we cannot judge all law enforcement officers from the ones that held Floyd. He went on further to say that “most [law enforcement officers] are faithful, self-sacrificing public servants who put their lives on the line every day.” We must “recognize and empower them” rather than do the opposite through defunding. Without the rule of law, the destruction from the riots would “prevail over the valuable, peaceful protests that are intended to bring about change.” Valuable reforms to policing will come from expanding on “transparency, training, and termination.” Like Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-OH) said in his opening remarks, we must bring “healing not hatred, justice not chaos” through our reforms.
We’ve certainly seen what destruction a loss of rule of law has led to across the nation — mainly through violent protests and looting. One witness, Angela Underwood Jacobs, spoke of this. Her brother, a police officer, was killed in riots in Oakland, California.
“Fear, hatred, ignorance, and blind violence” snatched the life of my brother, Patrick, from all of us,” Underwood Jacobs said. She added that systemic injustice could not be solved with looting or violence. She called the idea of defunding the police ‘ridiculous,’ saying it was not a solution to police brutality.”
We are hopeful that Republican lawmakers will continue to defend the principles in our Constitution and uphold both the rule of law and rights of all people in their legislating. Eagle Forum will continue to monitor the progress of the Justice in Policing Act carefully. We will keep you up-to-date on its movement through the House and Senate.
