Los Angeles – Today, Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) joined Chairwoman Karen Bass (CA-37) and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) – along with Chairman Jerry Nadler (NY-10) and Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) – in introducing the Justice in Policing Act of 2020.
“The murder of George Floyd is just one of countless tragedies that underscore the urgent need to transform policing as we know it in our country,” said Congressman Gomez. “While no piece of legislation will right the wrongs that Black and Brown Americans have been historically subjected to, the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 represents a strong federal effort to instill much-needed accountability and transparency in how our communities are policed. Together, we must continue in our shared fight against injustice and to move our country towards a future where liberty and justice for all is reality for all Americans.”
The Justice in Policing Act will:
- Reform qualified immunity to lower legal standards for civil penalties against police
- Incentivize states to create independent oversight structures for police-involved deaths
- Create a National Police Misconduct Registry
- Mandate state and local law enforcement report demographic-based use-of-force data
- Mandate training on racial bias and the duty to intervene
- Ban no-knock warrants in drug cases
- Change use-of-force standards to whether force was necessary, not just reasonable
- Limit the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local law enforcement
- Require body cameras for federal uniformed police officers
- Make lynching a federal crime
The Justice in Policing Act is just one piece in the transformation of policing and law enforcement in this country. For deep, meaningful changes to take hold other reforms must also occur at the state and local levels of government.
Congressman Gomez is also a cosponsor of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley’s (MA-07) Resolution to condemn police brutality.
Click here to read the Justice in Policing Act.
Click here to read the Resolution Condemning Police Brutality, Racial Profiling, and the Use of Excessive Force.
