Sarbanes Votes to Pass Robust Reforms to Address Police Brutality

Press Release

Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) today voted to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (H.R. 7120), a bill to crack down on police brutality and create greater law enforcement accountability.

"Today, we passed meaningful reforms to transform policing and take aim at the systemic racism and culture of violence that continues to plague law enforcement across America," said Congressman Sarbanes. "Unlike the Trump White House and the Republican Senate, which only paid lip service to police reform, the measures we are supporting in the House are carefully designed to take on the culture of racism and violence that exists within our justice system."

Key provisions of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act include:

Remove barriers that make it difficult to prosecute police officers for misconduct or recover damages from officers who have violated civilians' rights;

Combat police brutality by requiring body and dashboard cameras, banning chokeholds, ending no-knock warrants in drug cases and taking steps to end racial profiling;

De-militarize the police by limiting the transfer of military weaponry to state and local police departments;

Improve police transparency by collecting more and better data concerning police misconduct and use of force; and

Increase pressure on the Justice Department to address systemic racial discrimination by law enforcement.

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