As a result of national protests sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, Democratic lawmakers in Congress introduced legislation on Monday aimed at ending excessive use of force by police forces.
The Justice in Policing Act was introduced and sponsored by Representatives Karen Bass (D-CA) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA). The Act seeks not only to prevent police officers from using choke holds, but also seeks to create a registry to track police misconduct, lower the mens rea standard needed to prosecute law enforcement officers, and reform qualified immunity by allowing individuals to recover damages when their constitutional rights have been infringed upon by law enforcement, among other amendments.
