The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 legislation was introduced Monday, June 8th in the U.S. House and Senate. Introduced by Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass, U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jarrold Nadler, Senators Kamala Harris, and Cory Booker the Act is co-sponsored by Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. The legislation proposes a number of reforms to law enforcement practices. It aims to offer wide-ranging solutions to increase police accountability and to build trust between law enforcement and their communities. The Act would accelerate the prosecution of police misconduct, end qualified immunity for law enforcement, limit the transfer of military weaponry to state and local police, require body and dashboard cameras, and ban chokehold. The Act also aims to enact steps to end racial profiling and steps up the pressure on the Justice Department to address systemic racial discrimination by law enforcement among other things. Bustos said, “Our nation has witnessed how police brutality has harmed Black communities – it is every person’s responsibility to work toward change.” She added that the Justice in Policing Act will take a “comprehensive approach to shift law enforcement practices to better protect all Americans…..We must be united in our resolve to eliminate systemic racism in all of its forms.”
