US Democrats Suggest American Police Reforms That Addresses Racism, Prosecutes Police For Misconduct

Amid ongoing protests against the death of 46-year-old black man, George Floyd, the U.S. Democrats in Congress have proposed new legislation to reform the American police that would make them accountable for acts of brutality and injustice.

The bill introduced by the Democrats will make it easier to prosecute police for incidents or behavior demonstrating racism and misconduct. It also talks about implementing a ban on chokeholds.

The new legislation has come as the Minneapolis lawmakers have vowed to disband the city’s police force.

The death of George Floyd has sparked outrage among people of all color, background and race across a majority of U.S. states. People have been seen protesting in several other regions across the world, including parts of Europe and Australia.

George Floyd lost his life to police brutality. In an attempt to arrest over suspicion of fake currency, ex-police officer Derek Chauvin pinned George down by putting his knee over his neck and continued to pressurize it despite him pleading that he is losing his breath.

The incident in Minneapolis, captured on the video and later circulated via media, also shows how the onlookers tried to stop the policemen by telling him to remove his knee as Geroge started to lose consciousness. However, ex-officer continued to press his neck with his knee, even minutes after George lost his consciousness.

Chauvin has now been charged with second-degree murder and his bail is set at $1.25 million. The other three police officers who were present at the site of the incident but did not stop Chauvin or made an attempt to release George have also been arrested and charged.

This is not the first time that clearly shows the act of police brutality, however, since it has gained nationwide attention due to the timely release of George Floyd’s death video to the world, people are calling out for stricter police reforms to prevent such injustice in the future.

The legislation proposed by the U.S. Democrats is called Justice in Policing Act of 2020. It is not yet clear whether the Republicans who control the U.S. Senate will support it.

The bill, introduced by the top Democratic lawmakers' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other officials, makes it easier to hold police accountable for violation of civil rights. It also calls for banning the transfer of federal funds to local police forces who do not have an implement similar reforms.

"The martyrdom of George Floyd gave the American experience a moment of national anguish, as we grieve for the black Americans killed by police brutality," said Mrs. Pelosi during the introduction of the bill on Monday, June 8.