Police Reforms: Dems Seek Overhaul But Shy Away From Defunding; N.Y. Bans Chokeholds; Cities Eye Funding

The Wall Street Journal: Democrats Seek Policing Overhaul Amid Widespread Protests
Congressional Democrats unveiled a sweeping overhaul of policing laws Monday aimed at making it easier to prosecute officers for misconduct, collect national data and establish new training programs to counter racial bias, in response to the protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd while in police custody. The legislation assembled by the Congressional Black Caucus and backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and others wraps together a flurry of bills endorsed by various lawmakers with a new focus on holding police officers accountable for misconduct. (Peterson, 6/8)

The Associated Press: A Look At Democrats' Sweeping Proposals To Overhaul Policing
The Justice in Policing Act is among the most ambitious law enforcement reforms from Congress in years and confronts several aspects of policing that have come under strong criticism, especially as more and more police violence is captured on cellphone video and shared across the nation and the world. The package limits legal protections for police, creates a national database of excessive-force incidents and bans police choke holds, among other changes that, The changes, if enacted, would have massive implications on policing in the U.S. (Long and Balsamo, 6/9)

Politico: Hill Democrats Quash Liberal Push To ‘Defund The Police’
“Defund the police” has become the latest battle cry of liberals protesting George Floyd's death in demonstrations across the country. But it won’t be echoed by lawmakers in the halls of Congress. Top Democrats are carefully — but forcefully — speaking out against growing calls from activists to defund police departments, an idea backed by prominent progressives to dismantle the system that has perpetuated the type of brutality seen in Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. (Ferris, Levine and Caygle, 6/8)

The Hill: Schumer Wants Votes On Police Reform, Fifth Coronavirus Bill By July 4 
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to give police reform and coronavirus legislation votes before a two-week July 4 recess. The Senate has more than three weeks before it leaves for the break, though McConnell has not indicated that either item is on his agenda. (Carney, 6/8)

The New York Times: After Protests, Politicians Reconsider Police Budgets And Discipline
In an abrupt change of course, the mayor of New York vowed to cut the budget of the nation’s largest police force. In Los Angeles, the mayor called for redirecting millions of dollars from policing after protesters gathered outside his home. And in Minneapolis, City Council members pledged to dismantle their police force and completely reinvent how public safety is handled. As tens of thousands of people have demonstrated against police violence over the past two weeks, calls have emerged in cities across the country for fundamental changes to American policing. (Searcey, Eligon and Stockman, 6/8)

The Washington Post: Police In The U.S. Have Shot And Killed More Than 5,000 People Since 2015
Protests against the use of deadly force by police swept across the country in 2015. Demonstrators marched in Chicago, turned chaotic in Baltimore, and occupied the area outside a Minneapolis police station for weeks. Protesters repeatedly took to the streets of Ferguson, Mo., where a white police officer had killed a black teenager the previous year and fueled anew a national debate about the use of force and how police treat minorities. (Berman, Sullivan, Tate and Jenkins, 6/8)

The New York Times: Defying Police Unions, New York Lawmakers Ban Chokeholds
Inspired by the protests sweeping the state and nation, New York legislative leaders on Monday began to approve an expansive package of bills targeting police misconduct, defying longstanding opposition from law enforcement groups, including police unions. The measures range from a ban on the use of chokeholds to the repeal of an obscure decades-old statute that has effectively hidden the disciplinary records of police officers from public view, making it virtually impossible for victims to know whether a particular officer has a history of abuse. (Ferre-Sadurni, Mays and Southall, 6/8)

NPR: New York State Moves Swiftly On Police Reform Bills
New York state, where marches drew thousands of people into the streets, has a troubled history of violence by police officers against unarmed black and Hispanic men. State Sen. Luis Sepulveda told lawmakers police tactics have led to the death and "utter humiliation" of many people of color. "I can speak from personal experience. When I was 18 years old, I was arrested because a police officer didn't like the way I looked at him," Sepulveda said. (Mann, 6/8)

The Associated Press: New York Poised To Lift Veil On Police Disciplinary Files
A decades-old law that kept law enforcement officers’ disciplinary records secret in New York appeared to be headed for an overhaul this week as state lawmakers moved to act on a number of police accountability measures prompted by street demonstrations over the death of George Floyd. The state law, known by its section title, 50-a, was passed in the 1970s to prevent criminal defense attorneys from subjecting officers to cross-examinations about irrelevant information in their personnel file. The law applies to jail guards and firefighters, as well. (Villeneuve, 6/9)

Los Angeles Times: LAPD To Halt Use Of Carotid Restraints; L.A. County Sheriff's Department Pledges To Restrict Use
The Los Angeles Police Department on Monday instructed officers not to use carotid restraints, chokeholds that restrict or block blood flow to the brain, pending a review by the city’s Police Commission. The restraint can render people unconscious or, as in the case of George Floyd, who was pinned to the ground by his neck for nearly nine minutes, it can prove fatal. (Ormseth and Tchekmedyian, 6/8)

NPR: Federal Dollars Fund Local Law Enforcement
Activists protesting police brutality are calling on cities and states to defund their police. Funding for local law enforcement now increasingly comes from the federal government. Federal departments ranging from the Department of Justice to the Department of Agriculture have grant programs aimed at hiring more police, equipping them, and constructing new police facilities. (Naylor, 6/9)

NPR: Trump Says He Won't 'Defund' Police, Prefers 'Gentle' Approach
President Trump on Monday rejected calls to disband or defund police departments as a response to massive protests against police brutality, sparked by the May 25 killing of George Floyd by police. "Sometimes you'll see some horrible things, like we witnessed recently," Trump said. "Ninety-nine percent of them are great, great people." (Rampton, 6/8)

NPR: Biden Opposes Defunding Police, Campaign Says
As protests against police brutality have unfolded across the country, calls to defund or abolish police departments are picking up traction among activists and even sparked a pledge by the Minneapolis City Council to "dismantle" the police force there. But Joe Biden's campaign said on Monday that the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee does not support that approach. "Vice President Biden does not believe that police should be defunded," Biden campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates told NPR in a statement. (Gringlas, 6/8)

The New York Times: What Would Efforts To Defund Or Disband Police Departments Really Mean?
Across the country, calls are mounting from some activists and elected officials to defund, downsize or abolish police departments. A veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council pledged on Sunday to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department, promising to create a new system of public safety in a city where law enforcement has long been accused of racism. The calls for change have left people uncertain of what those changes would really mean and how cities would contend with crime. Much remains uncertain and the proposals vary between cities, but here are answers to some questions about the issue. (Searcey, 6/8)

Boston Globe: ‘Not Good Enough’: City Councilors, Activists Increase Pressure On Walsh For Police Change 
City councilors and activists ratcheted up pressure Monday on Mayor Martin J. Walsh to put forth specific police reform proposals, as the movement to reexamine police spending gained momentum across the United States and in Boston. Walsh said on Sunday that Boston will reallocate some of its police budget, but he has yet to specify where the money would go. City Councilor Andrea Campbell said Monday that Walsh’s words were insufficient. (Valencia and McDonald, 6/8)

Dallas Morning News: Dallas ISD Should Disband Its Police Force, Advocacy Groups Urge
Five advocacy groups are urging the Dallas school district to disband its police force because black students and those with disabilities are often more likely to face harsher run-ins with officers than their peers. On Monday, they sent Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa a letter saying that many students of color feel less safe when police are at their schools because of traumatic experiences. (Smith and Ayala, 6/8)