LANSING, Mich. (March 17, 2021) — Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Beverly Hills) today offered Senate Resolution 28 calling on Congress to pass, and President Joe Biden to sign, The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Named after George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man killed by Minneapolis police officers last spring, the legislation would end the use of chokeholds and racial and religious profiling. It would also establish a national database to track police misconduct and prohibit certain no-knock warrants, among other initiatives.
“We have seen time and time again how certain police practices have ended with the senseless deaths of innocent people, many being people of color, including George Floyd,” Sen. Bayer said. “There can be no healing until justice is served and passing federal legislation that would prohibit police from using certain tactics would be a good first step.”
A landmark police reform bill, The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month on March 3. In addition to banning no-knock warrants in certain cases, mandating data collection on police encounters, and prohibiting racial and religious profiling, it would also redirect funding to community-based policing programs and allow for investigations into police misconduct. The bill is now in the U.S. Senate for consideration.
Last session, Michigan Senate Democrats introduced legislation, that passed in a bipartisan vote of the Michigan Senate, to reduce police brutality by requiring more training for law enforcement officials on de-escalation tactics and providing mental health support. Unfortunately, the bill languished in the state House.
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