Lawmakers reach bipartisan agreement on police reform: NPR

Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., reached an initial bipartisan agreement on police reform after months of closely watched debate on the subject.

Senators Tim Scott, RS, Cory Booker, and Representative Karen Bass, D-Calif., announced the agreement Thursday night.

“After months of working in good faith, we have reached agreement on a framework that addresses key issues of bipartisan police reform,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.

“There is still more work to be done on the final bill, and nothing has been agreed upon until everything is agreed. Over the next few weeks we look forward to continuing our work toward getting a final proposal across the finish line.”

The exact details of the plan were not immediately clear.

– the question of reforming qualified immunity to facilitate the prosecution of police officers for allegations of brutality, It was a sticking point in negotiations. Police use of strangulation was another discussed item.

The US police reform effort comes after several years of increasing pressure to understand and regulate the way officers interact with the communities in which they patrol.

The killing of a large number of blacks – many unarmed – by the police – who were exposed to each other Notable cases It was white – it was a catalyst for the police reform movement.

The House of Representatives was led by Democrats agreed The George Floyd Police Justice Act — named after one of those blacks killed by police — in early March, and President Biden had hoped Congress would pass the reform effort by the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s death in late May.

but bass said then Obtaining “substantive legislation” is “much more important than a specific date.”

Floyd’s killer, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, is He is due to be sentenced to prison on Friday.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Thursday that Biden “is grateful to Representative Bass, Senator Booker, and Senator Scott for all their hard work in police reform, and looks forward to collaborating with them on this path forward.”

The topic of police reform has divided the nation across party lines, with progressives accusing the right of seeking to keep law enforcement archaic and too powerful. Conservatives say the left has blamed some officers’ actions on the establishment itself, and turned the topic of police support and “blue life” into more ammunition for the ongoing culture war.