Police reform cannot wait any longer

Police reform cannot delay any longer

Eric Wilson

A shocking 14-second video reveals the entry of a SWAT team from Minneapolis into Locke's residence during an investigation, with a warrant. Upon waking up, Locke was seen holding a weapon for just a few seconds prior to his death. Police claimed Locke was not mentioned in the warrant, and an attorney for Locke's family asserted that Locke was the lawful owner of his firearm.

The takeaway however, is that in a city still grappling with the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, innocent Black lives more are senselessly taken by the law enforcement of Minneapolis.

Tragically, the circumstances surrounding Locke's death – the issuing of search warrants, a practice disproportionately affecting Black people across the nation – would be even more disturbing, had elected officials in Washington D.C. not intentionally avoided police reform seriously. Despite demands for change, Congress has twice failed to pass the George Floyd Policing Act. While the bill primarily prohibits warrantless arrests in drug cases, it would be a significant step in police reform.

But here we are, in 2022, less than three years after the killing of Breonna Taylor due to a warrant in Kentucky and just two years after the murder of George Floyd. Another Black life has been needlessly taken by the police – merely due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I reside near Minneapolis, and as I wrote following Froyd's murder, I, and countless other white Americans, were made suddenly aware of the challenges faced daily by people of color, particularly Black men, in navigating the legal system. I had hoped that, after so many Black lives lost due to poor police work – Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Daunt Wright, and Philando Castile, now well-known names following their deaths – that Congress would finally take action to rectify the situation, establish national standards, outline best practices, and ultimately save lives.

However, elected officials in Washington, D.C., and some police departments across the country, have failed to take action, resulting in the continuing loss of innocent young lives and families torn apart by senseless deaths.

How did we get here?

Just one month after Floyd's murder, Democrats in both chambers of Congress brought a turning point that was passed by the House but not in the Republican-controlled Senate. Instead, Republican lawmakers proposed a revised version of the bill that Democrats "blocked." Then, in 2021, the George Floyd Policing Act was re-introduced and again passed by the House.

Public outcry for Black Lives Matter is waning, and the focus turns to the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19. Political support for legislation in Congress is gradually eroding. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act aims to create a national database for police misconduct, ban racial and religious profiling by law enforcement agencies on all levels, and revise qualified immunity to protect the police from accountability.

Even Senator Tim Scott, South Carolina's only Black Republican working on the bill with Democrats, could not secure at least nine Republican colleagues to join him, requiring the 60-vote threshold to overcome in the House. Moreover, if Democratic senators Joe Manchin from West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona do not repeal outdated filibuster rules to facilitate the passage of the bill, it is simply impossible that the bill would reach President Joe Biden's desk with simple majority.

Scott eventually even turned against his own bill.

Among the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act's most prominent provisions, it explicitly bans no-knock warrants in drug-related investigations and threatens to withhold federal funding from police agencies that continue to use such tactics, which is known to contribute to the widespread use of highly-offensive tactics. Although many jurisdictions have reduced or abolished the use of no-knock warrants in the two years following Breonna Taylor's death, Minneapolis was not one of them.

In fact, officers of the Minneapolis Police Department, as established by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, have submitted at least 13 warrant applications and received approvals in the new year – more than 12 in the same period. An additional standard warrant was acquired during that time. While the warrant leading to Locke's death was not part of a drug-related investigation under the bill, the looming threat of federal funding cuts signals growing concern over the use of no-knock warrants, which can help reduce the frequent use of such aggressive tactics. It is worth noting that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced a "pause" in the practice following Locke's death, but the city refused to enact it.

Now, with 2022 midterm elections approaching, Democrats' interest in discussing police reform has waned as murder rates climb in cities across the nation. This lack of action was recently made clear when President Biden visited New York City to support former NYPD police officer and current mayor Eric Adams, who called for more funding for the police, saying: "We will provide you with the necessary tools, training, and resources to be a partner, a protector, and to understand the community."

References:

Enrichment Data: The ongoing efforts and challenges surrounding police reform legislation in the United States, particularly the George Floyd Policing Act, are multifaceted and complex. Here are some key points:

Efforts:

1. George Floyd Policing Act: Passed by the House of Representatives in March 2021, the bill aims to address police brutality, racial profiling, and other issues by reforming policing practices. It includes provisions such as banning chokeholds, no-knock warrants, and qualified immunity for police officers in certain cases.
2. State-Level Reforms: Various states have introduced their own police reform bills. For example, New York State Senate Bill S4354 aims to increase transparency and public trust in the police disciplinary process by reducing the Police Commissioner's discretion in modifying or rejecting determinations made by the civilian complaint review board.
3. Immigration-Related Reforms: The POLICE Act of 2025, introduced by Senators Katie Britt and Ted Budd, seeks to make the assault of law enforcement officers, firefighters, or other first responders a deportable offense, aiming to strengthen federal law and ensure swift removal of individuals who engage in violent actions against these professionals.

Challenges:

1. Partisan Divide: Police reform legislation often faces significant partisan resistance. The George Floyd Policing Act, for instance, has been stalled in the Senate due to disagreements between Democrats and Republicans.
2. Balancing Public Safety and Civil Liberties: There is a continuous debate about how to balance the need for public safety with the protection of civil liberties. The use of AI in policing, for example, raises concerns about racial profiling and the potential for increased instances of civil liberties violations.
3. Community Trust: Failed police reform efforts in cities like Atlanta have eroded community trust and tolerance for police brutality. This highlights the need for community-driven strategies that address social needs and mitigate the health consequences of police violence.
4. Implementation and Oversight: The effective implementation of police reform requires robust oversight mechanisms to ensure that reforms do not lead to unintended consequences, such as increased stress and burnout among officers. Proper oversight is crucial for the responsible deployment of technologies like AI in policing.