Congressman Cohen Applauds President Biden’s Executive Order for Policing Reforms
Order contains some elements of the George Floyd Justice in Police Act the Congressman authored
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, and a member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, today applauded President Biden's Executive Order reforming policing practices, which was announced on the second anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
The measure announced today contains elements of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the House in March 2021. That bill, which contained three provisions authored by Congressman Cohen, has been blocked in the Senate by Republicans.
See the a summary of the provisions of the Executive Order released by the White House here.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
"The killing of George Floyd was a watershed in our history, propelling the too-common police killing of unarmed Black men to center stage in our national debate on needed policing reforms. President Biden's executive order today contains sound and reasonable solutions, including the substance of my bill, the National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act, which would require law enforcement to collect, compile, and submit data on the use of deadly force by specific law enforcement officers to the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics.
"The President's commonsense and constructive order will go a long way toward increasing public confidence that law enforcement will treat all members of the public fairly by assuring that police officer training and accountability lead to greater sensitivity to community expectations. At a time of particular concern about police misconduct in minority communities and the perception that implicit and explicit bias motivates police decision-making, these measures will make our communities safer and encourage greater confidence that those who protect and serve will do so with accountability and a commitment to justice under law."
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