But in the wake of Floyd’s death, Lancman’s bill has gained enough support for a veto-proof majority, even as it has been broadened to ban officers from restricting “the flow of air or blood by compressing the windpipe, diaphragm, or the carotid arteries” during an arrest. Floyd died after a since-fired Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with murder.
Lancman said the current civil unrest is the “deepest, broadest wave of public outcry” for criminal justice reform he’s seen in his time in office. “This moment allowed us to move [the bill] forward with confidence,” he said.
That momentum appears to have carried over to Congress, where Democrats this week put forward sweeping police reform bills in the House and Senate. The bills would overhaul police precincts across the country, in part by banning the use of chokeholds, ending “no-knock” search warrants in drug cases and applying new oversight measures to departments.
Republicans, led by South Carolina’s Tim Scott, one of only three Black U.S. senators, are working up their own alternative legislation to address the policing system. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday a proposal that steered clear of major police reform.
Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/12/george-floyd-protests-lawmakers-activists-optimistic-about-police-reform.html