In Wake Of Latest Police Shooting, Momentum Continues To Grow For Use-Of-Force Reform
Experts say they are seeing more support for legislation that would more tightly regulate the ways that police can use force on suspects. Cities and states across the country are grappling with how best to address police violence as the protests sparked by George Floyd's death continue.
The New York Times:
Police Killings Prompt Reassessment Of Laws Allowing Deadly Force
The swift decision on Sunday to fire the white Atlanta police officer who shot and killed a black motorist intensified the growing re-examination of the use of deadly force by the police, challenging longstanding principles that have given law enforcement officers wide latitude in cases in which an encounter ends with a death. Although laws vary by state, police officers in America are generally allowed to use deadly force when they reasonably believe their lives or the lives of others are in danger, a legal standard designed to give the authorities enormous leeway to make split-second life-or-death decisions without hesitation or fear of prosecution. (Rojas and Fausset, 6/14)
The New York Times:
Police Reform Is Necessary. But How Do We Do It?
On Memorial Day, the police in Minneapolis killed George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man. Three officers stood by or assisted as a fourth, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. Floyd said he could not breathe and then became unresponsive. His death has touched off the largest and most sustained round of protests the country has seen since the 1960s, as well as demonstrations around the world. The killing has also prompted renewed calls to address brutality, racial disparities and impunity in American policing — and beyond that, to change the conditions that burden black and Latino communities. (Bazelon and Sidibe, 6/13)
The Associated Press:
Senate GOP To Restrict Police Choke Holds In Emerging Bill
Driven by a rare urgency, Senate Republicans are poised to unveil an extensive package of policing changes that includes new restrictions on police choke holds and other practices as President Donald Trump signals his support following the mass demonstrations over the deaths of George Floyd and other black Americans. (Mascaro, 6/15)
Los Angeles Times:
Congress Tackles Police Reform, But GOP And Democrats At Odds
Nearly three weeks after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, which galvanized the most widespread and sustained racial-justice protests the United States has seen in a generation, House Democrats are calling for a ban on police chokeholds, an end to no-knock warrants and the creation of a national police misconduct registry, among other steps. A midweek hearing is set in the House on the Democratic plan. On the Senate side, the chamber’s only Black Republican, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, plans to unveil a measure this week. (King, 6/14)
The Washington Post:
Republican Senators Outline GOP’s Police Reform Bill
Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who have been working on the GOP’s answer to a bill released by House Democrats last week, both endorsed a ban on chokeholds Sunday. But while Scott stressed on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that both chambers of Congress and the White House “want to tackle the issue,” it is not clear whether such a ban will appear in the GOP bill. (Demirjian, 6/14)
The Associated Press:
Perils Of Police At High Speeds Spur Calls For More Reform
A tragic chain of events that led to the death of a retired elementary teacher in Chicago started when a police officer confronted a man in a West Side alley. After issuing a call for help, the officer could be heard over the police radio screaming, “Drop the gun!” Three minutes later and just two blocks away, two police vehicles speeding to the officer’s aid collided at an intersection, one catapulting the other onto a sedan taking 84-year-old Verona Gunn home after a family cookout. She died hours later on an operating table. (Tarm, 6/15)
Los Angeles Times:
LAPD Violence Against George Floyd Protests Erodes Reforms
May Day, 2007, began peacefully in Los Angeles. It ended as another dark, violent chapter for the city’s Police Department. As annual immigrant rights demonstrations wound down, marchers gathered at MacArthur Park. When a small group of agitators threw bottles and other objects, disorganized police responded with shocking force on the entire crowd. Officers in riot gear swept through the park, firing hard projectiles and beating people. The ruthlessness — televised live — left nearly 250 protesters injured. The city was outraged. (Rubin, 6/14)
The Washington Post:
Richmond Protests: Police Pepper Spray Protesters In Standoff Outside Police Headquarters
Police in Richmond used what appeared to be pepper spray on demonstrators twice late Sunday after hundreds protested an incident Saturday evening in which a city police vehicle hit several people while driving through a group. At least one person was thought to have been taken into custody. (Schneider, 6/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
Atlanta Police Shooting Sparks New Outrage
The killing in a Wendy’s parking lot added a rallying cry to protests demanding an end to police brutality and systemic racism that have fanned out nationwide and internationally from Minneapolis since the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in that city. Over the weekend, protests coincided with Pride Month for the LGBTQ community as demonstrators rallied in support of black transgender rights in Brooklyn, while several streets in Los Angeles closed down for a demonstration that combined racial-injustice protests with the city’s annual pride march for gay and transgender rights. (Calfas and Honan, 6/14)
KQED:
Oakland Groups Sue City, Police Chief Over Forceful Response To Black Lives Matter Protests
The city of Oakland, its interim police chief and several Oakland Police Department officers are facing a class-action lawsuit over their handling of protests that erupted in late May in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. A coalition of social justice groups filed the suit Thursday night, alleging some OPD officers unlawfully attacked Black Lives Matter protesters. (Siler-Gonzales, 6/12)
Dallas Morning News:
With Dallas Roundtable, Texas Sen. Cornyn And City Leaders Hope To Begin Long March Toward Police Reform
Conceding the scope of the task ahead, Sen. John Cornyn and Dallas city leaders held a roundtable discussion Friday to begin the process of rebuilding trust in law enforcement locally and nationally in the wake of George Floyd’s killing last month. ...However, the senator said, while it was his hope that “something good can come out of this terrible tragedy,” he cautioned against acting too swiftly to institute needed reforms despite the sense of urgency spurred by recent national unrest. (Ramirez, 6/12)
