Bipartisan Group Of Lawmakers Fail To Reach Deal On Police-Overhaul Bill
A bipartisan group of lawmakers failed to reach a compromise on a police-overhaul bill after months of discussion following the nationwide protests on police brutality targeted towards Black Americans.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who worked alongside Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) since earlier this year to find common ground on how much police officers should be held accountable, said that his party was done negotiating Wednesday after Scott rejected their final proposed offer.
“The goal from the very beginning was to get meaningful reforms that would end the policing problem we’ve had in this nation for generations,” Booker said. “But in the end we couldn’t do it, if you just take some of those issues of transparency, professional standards and accountability, we couldn’t get there.”
In their negotiation, the three lawmakers also debated eliminating the immunity doctrine, which protects police officers and other government officials from lawsuits. However, they were not able to draft language that was agreed by all.
The lack of a police-overhaul bill means that any changes to America’s police system are mainly left on the Justice Department’s shoulders, which last week announced that they will limit police officers from using chokeholds on suspects and “no-knock” entries when entering people’s homes.
“Building trust and confidence between law enforcement and the public we serve is central to our mission at the Justice Department,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The sweeping action, however, only applies to federal officers and a bill to overhaul police action remains to be agreed on.
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