Democrats block GOP police reform Bill
US Senate Democrats blocked a closely-watched police reform Bill, arguing that the Republican measure introduced after George Floyd’s killing by police does not go nearly far enough.
Supporters fell short of the 60 vote threshold, 55-45, with just three Democrats joining Republicans in voting to advance the legislation.
The impasse has left the political parties feuding over forging new guidelines to address police brutality after weeks of protests led to a reckoning on racial injustice and police accountability. Attention now turns to the House, where Democrats intend to pass their own, more sweeping police reform Bill.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said his party’s measure was a “first step” that would allow floor debate on police reforms, but that Democrats balked.
“The only way there is any downside for Democrats to come to the table is if they’d rather preserve this urgent subject as a live campaign issue than pass a bipartisan answer,” he said.
The GOP proposal would discourage but not ban tactics like chokeholds. It would provide for more de-escalation training and send officers’ use-of-force information into a national database aimed at weeding out bad cops.
But the Bill does not end or limit qualified immunity, the controversial doctrine that protects police from being sued for misconduct.
And instead of direct mandates, the measure would incentivise change by denying federal grants to police departments that do not end the tactics of chokeholds or noknock warrants.
“The Republican Bill does not even attempt ONE significant reform to bring more accountability to police officers who are guilty of misconduct,” posted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Twitter.