President Biden Calls for Police Reform in State of the Union
President Biden renew his call for police reform during the 2023 State of the Union on Tuesday. The President emphasized the executive order he signed last year and urged Congress to “come together and finish the job.”
“Public safety depends on public trust. But too often that trust is violated,” President Biden said.
The State of the Union Address occurred one month after police officers in Memphis, Tennessee beat 29-year-old Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop. Nichols died several days later. Nichols’ parents attended the State of the Union as invited guests of the president.
“I know most cops are good, decent people. They risk their lives every time they put on that shield. But what happened to Tyre in Memphis happens too often We have to do better,” said the President.
In the address before both chambers of Congress, President Biden called for accountability and more resources for law enforcement training. He also called for more professionals to address mental health and substance abuse challenges, noting that police often have “to be counselors, social workers, psychologists, responding to drug overdoses, mental health crises.”
The President urged efforts to reduce violent crime, gun crime, and more resources to boost community intervention programs and make investments in housing, education, and job training.
“Give law enforcement the training they need, hold them to higher standards, and help them succeed in keeping everyone safe,” President Biden said.
President Biden pointed to the executive order signed last year that banned chokeholds for all federal officers, restricted no-knock warrants, and included other elements of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The President did not explicitly call for the passage of the George Floyd Act in the speech, which passed the House twice but stalled in the Senate in previous congresses.
Democrats are making a renewed push for the legislation which would impose new restrictions on the use of deadly force and eliminate qualified immunity that shields police officers from civil lawsuit. Previously, Republicans have supported the Just and Unifying Solutions To Invigorate Communities Everywhere Act, or the JUSTICE Act, which focuses on training on de-escalation tactics, behavioral health crises, alternatives to the use of force, and the duty to intervene when another officer uses excessive force
Politico reports that Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) plans to reintroduce the Floyd bill with a “duty to intervene” provision for Nichols added.“The four corners of this bill may be expanded, may be modified. Names may be added to it. But the key element is an infrastructure of guidance for police,” said Congresswoman Jackson-Lee.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) started talks on a police reform bill with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the ranking republican on the Judiciary Committee.
“We’ve got to do our job and do it in a thoughtful, professional way,” Senator Durbin told the paper.