The Congressional Black Caucus called for more changes to the way the country handles police accountability on Thursday and applauded the changes that have been made in the three years since the death of George Floyd.
The caucus marked the anniversary of Floyd’s murder, which occurred on May 25, 2020, by praising the work that has been done by President Joe Biden’s administration and the justice system. Thursday also marked one year since Biden issued his executive order titled “Executive Order on Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety.”
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“In the year since President Biden issued the executive order on policing, the Congressional Black Caucus has been leading the efforts in Congress to improve public safety and promote police accountability,” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV), chairman of the CBC, said in a statement to the Hill.
“The CBC has worked to ensure the Department of Justice would make progress on implementation of key provisions in the president’s executive order by requesting regular status updates and holding meetings with President Biden, Vice President [Kamala] Harris, and the DOJ, to discuss our public safety agenda and convey the concerns of numerous families and survivors impacted by police encounters,” he added.
The executive order established a national law enforcement accountability database to track officer misconduct and created guidance to address mental health crises. It also created practices that would improve safety conditions in prisons and jails.
Members of the CBC, including Horsford, met with Attorney General Merrick Garland, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke earlier this week to discuss the Justice Department’s implementation of the executive order.
“The CBC applauds the DOJ’s commitment to implementation of the executive order — particularly on key provisions that the CBC has communicated to the Biden-Harris administration will save lives in black and brown communities,” Horsford said after the meeting.
“Those provisions include updating its use of force policies and requirements for body-worn cameras, prohibiting sale and purchase for military-style weapons, providing stronger guidance to states and localities on death in custody investigations, and banning chokeholds and minimizing the use of no-knock warrants,” he said.
The Department of Homeland Security issued its first companywide policy on body cameras earlier this week to comply with the executive order.
Floyd, a black man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2020 at the hands of white police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. His death sparked a summer of protests against police brutality and catapulted the Black Lives Matter movement into the global spotlight.
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“We commend the activists, organizers, and communities who have tirelessly fought for justice and equality since George Floyd’s death,” the CBC Foundation said in a statement on Thursday.
“We recognize the strength and resilience of the Black community and its allies, who continue to push for meaningful reforms and demand an end to the violence and discrimination faced by black Americans daily,” it added.
