WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Democrats are in Washington Thursday readying a vote on what they describe as “sweeping” policing reform legislation. But this comes after the Senate Republicans failed to pass a bill of their own, throwing a wrench into congressional policing negotiations. Yet both parties have the same goal: to pass one of the most ambitious policing overhauls in decades.
On the House side, Ontario Democratic Rep. Norma Torres submitted a list for stronger provisions for the Justice and Policing Act of 2020. She pulled from her 17.5-year experience as a 911 dispatcher, where she connected people-in-need with law enforcement every day.
“I worked for LAPD during a very difficult time,” Torres said. “There has to be more engagement between our police and our community in order for them to be able to work and truly provide that community policing that we all want them to do.”
The House bill makes lynching a federal crime, bans chokeholds, boosts training for officers, and creates a National Database to track police misconduct, among other notions, such as using a social worker for some emergencies. While Torres is a co-sponsor for the bill, she said the details of the legislation need to be air-tight.
“We cannot leave any grey areas,” Torres said.
Torres submitted a list of nine amendments for the Judiciary Committee to consider. At the top, she said an officer who resigns before a complaint investigation is over still needs to be included in the national registry.
She also called for funding to study the effectiveness of mental health interventions when a social worker responds to an emergency rather than a police officer. Torres’ list also includes reevaluating officer ‘quotas’ and requested funding for a pilot program that would bring trauma counseling to officers.
“These recommendations come from many years in public service, not just as a 911 dispatcher listening to victims of crime for 17.5 years but also listening to police officers when they’re asking for help because they are too sometimes victims,” Torres said.
By Wednesday, one of Torres’ provisions was included in negotiations: the proposal to amend the registry and account for officers who resign.
Torres also wanted to require the DOJ to review the decertification system for officers across states and recommend standards for decertification. The Judiciary Committee included a similar notion, saying states must have a decertification program in order to receive funds through the Byrne grant program.
Right now, California does not have the authority to revoke a police officer’s license. The state also has not banned all chokeholds, a centerpiece for the House’ policing reform.
“Chokeholds, only two states in the nation, Oregon and Florida, don’t have that still in their law books. Come on California, it’s time that you pass a law to ban chokeholds,” Torres said.
The congresswoman said there’s a lot of work ahead, as members of both parties wrestle with one of the largest police reform bills in decades.
“Change is here, and the people are tired, and they have been waiting for change for much too long, embrace it, and work with us to make it happen. And if not, you know the drill, the laws are not made for the good people. The laws are made to address the bad people,” Torres said.
On Wednesday, Senate Republicans tried to introduce their own policing bill but was blocked by Democrats who said the bill was not enough. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blames Democrats for prolonging the vote in order to “preserve [the] campaign issue.”