As George Floyd protests rage, U.S. lawmakers looking to propose legislative overhauls for police departments
WASHINGTON — As nationwide protests continue in the wake of George Floyd’s death, lawmakers in Washington have grappled with how to respond to the anger in the streets with concrete policing overhauls that can, in the words of Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, begin to “heal the country.”
But the early days of what is likely to be a complicated policy debate in Congress have been bogged down by partisan rancor over how to handle the protests amid President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to deploy the U.S. military, as well as “vicious dogs” and “ominous weapons,” against demonstrators.
Mr. Doyle said policing reform would be at the top of his agenda as he returned to work after declaring victory Tuesday in the Democratic primary election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District. He won 68% of the vote, according to county vote totals Wednesday.
Mr. Doyle supports legislation to outlaw chokeholds, require police officers to wear body cameras at all times, require extensive de-escalation training and ban the sale of surplus military equipment to police departments.
“Problems — systemic problems that have gone on for years — need to be addressed,” Mr. Doyle told reporters this week. “I think you’re going to see some action in the House of Representatives.”
A Democratic conference call this week, Mr. Doyle added, left open the possibility members may return to Washington earlier than scheduled to vote on bills.
In a town hall Thursday, Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, said he would support federal funding so police departments can provide better training and pay for their officers.
“I think a lot of times we’re asking police to do a thousand different things,” Mr. Lamb said, noting the base hourly wage for a police officer in Western Pennsylvania is $12.45. “What I’m gonna be focusing on, among many things, is support not for less policing or not for measures to harm the police in favor of someone else, but for more effective and better policing.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters this week that up to 50 pieces of legislation were under discussion by the Congressional Black Caucus,
which will take the lead on proposing a package “to ensure justice, to put in place accountability, and to end this loss of life.”
Crowds have gathered in cities across the country to call for greater accountability of police departments and an end to systemic racial inequities in America. They were sparked by the police killing of Mr. Floyd, an unarmed black man who died last week after a Minneapolis police officer put a knee on his neck.
But it remained unclear what proposals can pass the muster of the Republican-controlled Senate and also get Mr. Trump’s signature.
“We’ll be talking to our colleagues about what, if anything, is appropriate for us to do,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters this week.
The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to schedule a hearing to address police use of force, panel Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., announced. Mr. Graham said he and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, DCalif., the top Democrat on the committee, agreed they were “appalled at what we saw” in Mr. Floyd’s death.
“The Committee intends to call a wide variety of witnesses on the topics of better policing, addressing racial discrimination regarding the use of force, as well as building stronger bonds between communities and police,” Mr. Graham stated. The hearing has yet to be put on the committee’s calendar.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has taken to Twitter in recent days threatening to crack down on protests using the military and attacking mayors and governors for being too soft.
On Monday, police teargassed a crowd of protesters behind the White House so Mr. Trump could walk to pose, holding a Bible, in front of the church.
On Wednesday, a group of 15 Senate Democrats — including Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio — asked U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley to refrain from deploying troops.
The senators called the government’s response a “critical moment for our nation.”
“How our institutions respond will determine whether the coming weeks and months lead to healing and unity, or continued derision, discord and injustice,” the senators wrote.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., joining law enforcement officials during a press conference in Philadelphia this week, said he “felt anger” watching the George Floyd video and supported the peaceful protests. But said the normal workings of the U.S. justice system could weed out “bad apples” who “need to be held accountable when they commit misconduct.”
“Policy-makers at all levels of government ought to make sure we’re doing what we can to minimize the risk of future such events,” Mr. Toomey said.
Mr. Toomey has repeatedly opposed restrictions on surplus military protective equipment to law enforcement. In a 2016 letter to President Barack Obama, Mr. Toomey argued the equipment played a crucial role in the police responses to the terror attacks in Orlando and San Bernardino, Calif.
‘Disheartening’
While most protests have been peaceful, they have at times resulted in clashes with police or turned to the vandalism and looting of businesses.
A nonviolent demonstration in Pittsburgh last week turned into the burning of Pittsburgh police cruisers, smashed windows and looting.
“I was there at the beginning for about an hour, when things were really peaceful, only to watch it disintegrate later into the night,” Mr. Doyle said, adding the tensions were “really tearing our country apart.”
“I’ve lived in Pittsburgh all my life, and what I saw a couple nights ago was really disheartening,” he said.
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, RPeters, said in an interview with NewsMax Tuesday that groups like Antifa were “sowing chaos and discord.”
“Those who are engaged in peaceful protests, they deserve compassion and support,” he said. But “outside groups” creating violence “deserve the full force of law and order.”
Mr. Doyle said any legislation put forth in the Democratically controlled House must be negotiated with Republicans.
“I’m going to strive to see that as we do these things, that we engage our Republican colleagues in the House, and try to do this in a way that’s bipartisan,” Mr. Doyle said. “That’s going to be also part of what we need to do to heal the country.”