Protests push GOP into police changes
Democrats watch shift in Republican stance warily
Embracing a new priority, US President Donald Trump is set to announce executive actions on police procedures and Senate Republicans are preparing a package of policing changes as the GOP rushes to respond to mass demonstrations over the deaths of George Floyd and other black Americans.
It’s a sudden shift for the Republican Party, one Democrats are watching warily, and a crush of activity that shows how quickly the mass protests over police violence and racial prejudice are transforming national politics.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will gavel today for an extensive hearing on “Police Use of Force and Community Relations”, drawing testimony from the nation’s leading civil rights and law enforcement leaders.
“Now is the time to reimagine a more fair and just society in which all people are safe,” Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, will tell senators, according to advance testimony obtained by the Associated Press.
The nationwide outcry “is anything but a reaction to one isolated incident or the misconduct of a few ‘bad apples’,” Gupta says. “The outcry is a response to the other horrific killings of black people by police.”
While the emerging GOP package isn’t as extensive as Democratic proposals, which are headed for a House vote next week, it includes perhaps the most far-reaching proposed changes to policing procedures from the party long aligned with a hardline policing approach.
Trump’s executive order would include establishing a database that tracks police officers who garner complaints about excessive use of force in their records, according to two senior administration officials.
It would also establish a national credentialling system that would give police departments a financial incentive to adopt best practices.
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the sole African American Republican in the Senate, has been crafting the GOP legislative package, which will include new restrictions on police chokeholds and greater use of police body cameras, among other provisions.
The weekend shooting death of Rayshard Brooks by a white officer in Atlanta led to a renewed public outcry, more street protests and the police chief’s resignation.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York is among those urging Republicans not to settle for minor changes.
“Now is the time to seek bold and broad-scale change,” Schumer said.
With the political debate fluid, it is unclear whether the parties will be able to find common ground. The proposals emerging from Democrats and Republicans share many similar provisions but take different approaches to address some of the issues. Neither bill goes as far as some activists want in their push to “defund the police” by fully revamping departments.
One large police union, the influential Fraternal Order of Police, said in a statement it is working with Congress and the White House on the proposals, having provided “feedback” on the Democratic bill and “substantial input” on the emerging GOP package.