Movement for Black Lives opposes Democrats’ bill to overhaul policing

A major Black Lives Matter group is opposing congressional Democrats’ bill to overhaul policing, which is named after George Floyd, saying it does not do enough.

The Movement for Black Lives or M4BL, a coalition of 150 groups including the Black Lives Matter Network and the National Conference of Black Lawyers, told Democratic leaders in a letter that the legislation only makes “incrementalist reforms.”

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the Democratic-run House on March 3 and is being considered in the Senate, would create national standards for policing. The standards, among other things, ban chokeholds and police officers’ qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that shields officers from personal liability for actions in the line of duty.

The Black activists are demanding more decisive action, including eliminating the Drug Enforcement Administration, banning the use of surveillance technology, abolishing mandatory minimum sentences, and ending life imprisonment.

The bill is a top priority for Democrats and a range of liberal groups from the NAACP to the ACLU. President Biden urged its passage.

“To make our communities safe, we must begin by rebuilding trust between law enforcement and the people they are entrusted to serve and protect,” Mr. Biden said in a statement before the House vote. “We cannot rebuild that trust if we do not hold police officers accountable for abuses of power and tackle systemic misconduct — and systemic racism — in police departments.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lauded the bill as a cure for America’s “epidemic of injustice.”

“We’re proud of this legislation, which will fundamentally transform the culture with bold, unprecedented reforms. It will not erase centuries of systemic racism and excessive policing. And it will not bring back George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, or the countless others who have been killed or harmed. But it will take a tremendous step forward to stop the violence, stem the suffering and start to build a better America,” she said after the bill’s passage.

Mrs. Pelosi’s office did not respond to The Washington Times’ request for comment about M4BL’s objections.

The M4BL activists demanded more curbs on policing in the letter to Democratic lawmakers, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, Rep. Karen Bass of California, and Sen. Cory A. Booker of New Jersey.

“The bill bans federal use of chokeholds, ignoring the reality that police have killed Black people in this manner regardless of whether these bans are in place,” said the letter, which was first obtained by The Associated Press. “A no-knock warrant ban would not have saved Breonna Taylor’s life, just like a ban on chokeholds did not save Eric Garner’s life.”

It said the bill “fails to address the root causes and realities of policing in this country.”

Mr. Booker, the sponsor of the bill in the Senate, and Ms. Lee, the sponsor in the House, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The George Floyd bill faces an uncertain and uphill battle in the evenly divided Senate. Republican lawmakers say it goes too far.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the upper chamber, said talks with Democrats over the bill are continuing.

“We are at least in the middle of a serious conversation,” he told reporters this week. “I’m hopeful that it goes in the right direction — in a bipartisan fashion.”