Democrats are drafting the most sweeping national “police reform” bill in history, which essentially gives the activists much of what they’ve been demanding.
Politico reports some of the “reforms” they’re considering “would ban chokeholds, limit ‘qualified immunity’ for police officers, create a national misconduct registry, end the use of no-knock warrants in drug cases and make lynching a federal crime.”
Might as well put a bullseye on the cops’ backs.
Actually, a couple of those items aren’t bad. A misconduct registry, so that bad cops couldn’t move on to a new jurisdiction, might be useful. And some chokeholds should be banned. But there are many different kinds of chokeholds that are non-life threatening to a suspect and should be allowed — except Democrats are in no mood to be sensible.
That’s because this bill isn’t about being logical or reasonable. It’s about appeasement. It’s about throwing red meat to activists. It’s also crazy. Do Democrats really believe that policing a city like Grand Forks, N.D., is the same as policing Chicago or New York? A “one-size-fits-all” national police bill is idiotic.
The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 is sponsored on the House side by Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), and Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) on the Senate side. Harris is among the front runners to become the Democratic vice presidential nominee this year.
Appeasing the mob includes not offending their delicate sensibilities about why cities are “literally on fire.”
“Persistent, unchecked bias in policing and a history of lack of accountability is wreaking havoc on the Black community. Cities are literally on fire with the pain and anguish wrought by the violence visited upon black and brown bodies,” states a “Dear Colleague” letter accompanying the outline of the new proposal.
“While there is no single policy prescription that will erase the decades of systemic racism and excessive policing – it’s time we create structural change with meaningful reforms.”
Yep. They’re saying people loot, destroy, and set things on fire because they’re mad at police racism.
And if they get a big-screen TV or a passel of drugs or booze for week, that’s just gravy, right?
The most controversial proposals would revise federal statutes covering when police officers can be charged with using excessive force, and whether they can be sued for such behavior.
The most controversial proposals would revise federal statutes covering when police officers can be charged with using excessive force, and whether they can be sued for such behavior.
Current federal law states that police officers have to “willfully deprive” a person of their constitutional rights in order to be charged with wrongdoing, according to the Justice Department’s website.
Democrats want to revise the federal standard from “willful” to “knowingly or with reckless disregard,” as well as altering the language covering when such illegal acts are found to have resulted in someone’s death.
What we’re dealing with here is how should police handle anti-social, violent, sometimes drug-crazed suspects who object to police bringing them in for questioning or arresting them for a crime. How much force is “excessive”? And please define “brutality.”
A national police “reform” bill is a mistake.
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