(CBS)
President Biden is expected to sign a federal police order Wednesday at the White House, several CBS News sources reported, two years after George Floyd died at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
The executive order comes after bipartisan talks in Congress on police reform failed last year. The effort sparked by Floyd’s death was led by Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Democratic Sen. Corey Booker and Democratic MP Karen Bass.
Scott declined to comment on the executive’s expected actions, but Booker called them “very strong.”
“I think the president’s team – using the powers he has – has worked great to promote the call, which I think all Americans believe is doing their best to improve the police profession, to give our officers responsibility and support , “Booker told CBS News.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Congress would continue to work on the issue, noting that Senator from Majority Voters Dick Durbin and Booker remain involved. “It’s very, very important,” he said. “We are not giving up on that.”
The Brotherhood Order of the Police (FOP) and the International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP) also took part in the bipartisan talks.
Two sources told CBS News that the order would include sections on creating a database on the accountability of officers fired for wrongdoing, and a ban on suffocation and a restriction on human rights warrants at the federal level. Anti-bias training is also expected to be included.
Terence Cunningham, a retired chief who is now the deputy executive director of the IACP, added that some sections are expected to include strengthening the recruitment of officers and supporting the safety and health of officers. Cunningham also said the White House is cooperating with the FOP and IACP as ordered.
Cunningham said the IACP plans to attend the signing ceremony on Wednesday.
He also told CBS News that he hoped the ordinance, which had contributed to the FOP and IACP, would become a “plan” for the legislation and that it had “solid components”.
The White House has also requested contributions from civil rights organizations, including Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Committee of Lawyers on Civil Rights under the law. Hewitt told CBS News that the Biden administration is taking a “critical step” towards police accountability.
“It doesn’t apply to all the items we want in federal law, but it can’t, because an executive order by law can’t do that,” Hewitt said. “But I’d rather see the president take that step and do what he and his administration can do than sit back.”
“I hope that this sets not a ceiling, but a new floor, a new landmark, so that any further efforts to account for the police – local, state and federal – must at least reach this mark to be taken seriously in the future,” he added. Hewitt.
Recently, the White House briefed the chairman of the Black Caucus in Congress, Joyce Beatty, and expressed optimism about the upcoming order.
“I trust this president and this administration,” Beatty told CBS News. “I’ll be honest with you, we won’t collect everyone, and that’s okay because our glass will be half full and progress is moving by the needle.”
NAACP President Derrick Johnson welcomed the president’s order and said there was no better way to honor Floyd’s legacy. “We are well aware that an executive order cannot solve the police crisis in America as Congress can, but we must do everything we can,” he said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Justice renewed its federal policy on the use of force by law enforcement for the first time since 2004, according to a note sent by law enforcement last week.
“The policy of the Ministry of Justice is to value and preserve human life,” the note said. Approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service, the memo gives law enforcement officers the use of force that is “objectively reasonable” and designed to protect officer security and other persons. .
The federal government failed to reform the police two years after Floyd’s death during his arrest in May 2020. Shaven had been kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, and Floyd complained that he could not breathe. Three other police officers were involved in his death and earlier this year were found guilty of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care. Shaven was sentenced to 22 and 1/2 years in prison for the murder of Floyd.
Although the federal government does not have the constitutional authority to enact laws that could directly change the police by state or municipal law enforcement if Congress passed reforms, it would have the power to stimulate states and municipalities with federal grants. available with the requirement to make changes.
Actions taken by the Department of Justice that do not affect state or municipal police dictate that the federal police cannot use lethal force solely to prevent a fugitive suspect from fleeing, and firearms cannot be used with a moving vehicle in most situations.
Notably, the note directs officers to “recognize and act in accordance with” their duty to reasonably intervene and prevent “any officer from using excessive force or any other use of force that violates the Constitution, other federal laws,” or other policies.
Federal law enforcement officials will now be trained in such interventions, as well as receive instructions on de-escalation tactics to help them enforce individual requirements before force is needed.
“If possible, reducing the need for force allows officers to ensure their own safety as well as the safety of the population,” the note said.
The memorandum mandate comes into force on July 19, and each law enforcement agency under the Ministry of Justice will appoint leaders to implement reforms.
