At Local and State Levels:
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Breonna Taylor
Credit: Family of Breonna Taylor via AFP/Getty Images Mississippi Flag
Credit: CNN |
At the National Level: 2020-2022
On June 16, 2020, President Trump signed an executive order announcing that a federal database of police officers with records of using excessive force would be used, banning chokeholds except when an officer’s life is at risk, and encouraging departments to have mental health professionals. Trump chose not to directly address racism and discouraged efforts to defund the police (Liptak).
Trump has criticized the removal of monuments, and has defended Confederate statues as an essential part of American history. On July 3, Trump issued an executive order to create a "National Garden of American Heroes" in order to defend against those who vandalize monuments (Zurcher).
Learn more about the executive order and what American heroes Trump intends to include: Donald Trump orders creation of 'national heroes' garden (BBC News) |
Protestors attempt to topple a statue of Andrew Jackson
Credit: Drew Angerer / Getty Images |
On June 25, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The bill prohibits federal police from using chokeholds, as well as no-knock warrants in drug-related cases. It also lowers legal requirements to pursue criminal penalties for police misconduct. Due to lack of bipartisan support in the Senate, the bill will most likely be stalled (Grisales).
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Members of Congress hold a moment of silence for George Floyd
Credit: Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times Wondering what they're wearing? Learn more here |
On March 3, 2021, the House (in a new session of Congress) again passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The bill has passed 236 to 181 in June and was reintroduced in February 2021. In March 2021 it passed 220 to 212 along party lines. The push for changes to the policing system failed in 2020 due to gridlock in Congress, but Democrats have been determined to try again, now controlling all three branches of government. As mentioned above, it would bank chokeholds, end racial and religious profiling, create a national database monitoring police misconduct, and ban no-knock warrants, among other measures. President Biden has expressed his support for the legislation (Sonmez, Felicia, and Colby Itkowitz).
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In May 2022, signed an executive order mandating new use-of-force rules for federal law enforcement officers as well as directing the Justice Department to create a database to keep track of disciplinary records of federal officers. This executive order is the outcome of the failure of Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in 2021 (Kaste).
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act had passed the House, but not the Senate. This legislation would have created wider changes than Biden's executive order, as Biden does not have as much authority to directly control state and local law enforcement officers on his own (Viser).
Learn more about the executive order here:
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act had passed the House, but not the Senate. This legislation would have created wider changes than Biden's executive order, as Biden does not have as much authority to directly control state and local law enforcement officers on his own (Viser).
Learn more about the executive order here: