WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are proposing changes to police procedures and accountability, according to a draft of a bill obtained by The Associated Press.
The JUSTICE Act — Just and Unifying Solutions To Invigorate Communities Everywhere Act of 2020 — would establish an enhanced use-of-force database, restrictions on chokeholds and new training and commissions to study law enforcement and race.
In addition to the use-of-force database, the JUSTICE Act would also begin tracking — but would not ban — the use of no-knock warrants. In March, a Louisville woman named Breonna Taylor was killed when police entered her home on such a warrant.
The JUSTICE Act is the most ambitious GOP policing proposal in years. It's a direct response to the massive public protests over the death of George Floyd and other black Americans.
The package is set to be introduced Wednesday. As the outlines emerged, Democrats said it didn't go far enough.
The Justice in Policing Act, a bill introduced by Democrats in the House last week, would introduce more sweeping changes, including a ban on police chokeholds. The Democrats' bill would also amend federal law to make it easier to charge police officers with civil rights violations.
The introduction of the GOP bill will be introduced a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at changing police practices. Trump's order calls on police departments to utilize social workers in some emergency calls. It also encouraged the formation of a nationwide database to track officers who may be fired from one department in an effort to prevent another department from hiring them.
