Police reform talks flop as lawmakers hit gridlock
WASHINGTON — Bipartisan congressional talks on overhauling policing practices have ended without an agreement, top negotiators from both parties said Wednesday, marking the collapse of an effort that began after killings of unarmed Black people by police officers sparked protests across the U.S.
“It was clear that we were not making the progress that we needed to make,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told reporters. He cited continued disagreements on Democrats’ efforts to make officers personally liable for abuses, on raising professional standards and on collecting national data about police agencies’ use of force.
Talks had moved slowly for months, and it had become clear over the summer that the chances for a breakthrough were slim. Booker said he’d told Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the lead Republican negotiator, of his decision earlier Wednesday.
Repeated visits to Washington by victims’ relatives helped keep pressure on the issue. But in the end, Booker said, “I couldn’t get to a point where I can meet with families and tell them that we were going to address the specific issues that were putting your family member in harm’s way.”
Scott said he was “deeply disappointed” that Democrats had walked away from agreements reached on several issues, including banning choke holds, curbing the transfer of military equipment to police and increasing funds for mental health programs to address problems that often lead to encounters with law enforcement officers.
Democrats rejected a deal “because they could not let go of their push to defund our law enforcement,” said Scott, using a catchphrase of progressives from which most Democrats in Congress have disassociated themselves. “Once again, the Left let their misguided idea of perfect be the enemy of good, impactful legislation.”
The failed congressional effort followed high-profile police killings last year of Black people including George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky. Those killings and the protests that followed in scores of cities called attention to abusive police behavior and the disproportionately high number of Black Americans who are victims of fatal encounters with police.
In a written statement Wednesday, President Joe Biden called Floyd’s killing “a stain on the soul of America,” adding, “We will be remembered for how we responded to the call.”
He said Senate Republicans had “rejected enacting modest reforms” that then-President Donald Trump had backed and that some law enforcement organizations were open to. Biden said his administration will seek ways, including with executive orders, “to live up to the American ideal of equal justice under law.”
Booker noted support that parts of the effort had won from police organizations, and he said he was talking to the White House, other congressional Democrats and outside groups about still making progress on the issue.
“I just want to make it clear that this is not an end,” he said.
Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who have represented shooting victims’ families, expressed “extreme disappointment” in the talks’ outcome.
The police killings and the public reaction quickly caught the attention of both political parties, and work began in Congress to write legislation that would curb and monitor the police use of force. But from the beginning, some from each party voiced suspicions that their rivals would make few concessions.
Booker and Scott, who are among only three Black senators, refrained from criticizing each other throughout the talks and held to that Wednesday. The two have said they are friends and have cited similar experiences of being challenged by officers.
“We disagree on a lot of issues, and in this case, I’m disappointed that we have those disagreements,” Booker said. “But we both share the humiliation of being stopped by police officers.”