From: intraphase@gmail.com

Sen. Tim Scott says Senate Democrats have blocked his police reform bill

WASHINGTON, DC (FOX Carolina) - Republican Senator Tim Scott, from South Carolina, said Democrats in the Senate have blocked his bill calling for for police reform.
Tim Scott wearing a suit and tie: Senator Tim Scott, of South Carolina, the lone African American GOP senator, is leading his party's charge to respond to the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minnesota. ©
AL DRAGO/AFP/Getty Images

Senator Tim Scott, of South Carolina, the lone African American GOP senator, is
leading his party's charge to respond to the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minnesota.

Scott released this statement Wednesday after the bill was obstructed:

"I am amazed that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle refused to vote for legislation that would provide real life solutions for the American people.
If my colleagues had issues with the legislation, they should have accepted that we were
willing to give them multiple amendment votes so that we can make the necessary
adjustments to get this across the president’s desk. The JUSTICE Act is a first step inthe right direction, and it has the power to help to ensure that the list of names of
those who died at the hands of law enforcement officers does not grow longer. I
hope that the American people see how the Democrats blocked solutions from coming to their communities for the sake of partisan politics."

Scott and announced the JUSTICE Act on June 17, alongside co-sponsors Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) today with Senator Tim Scott
(R-SC), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV),
John Cornyn (R-TX), James Lankford (R-OK) and Ben Sasse (R-NE).

JUSTICE is an acronym for "the Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere " Act.

“Now is the time for reform,” Senator Scott said in a news release on June 17. “The murder of George Floyd and its aftermath made clear from sea to shining sea that action must be taken to rebuild lost trust between communities
of color and law
enforcement. The JUSTICE Act takes smart, commonsense steps to address these issues, from ending the use of chokeholds and increasing the use of body worn cameras, to providing more resources for police departments to better train officers and make
stronger hiring decisions. I want to thank Leader McConnell and the entire task
force not just for their hard work on putting this bill together, but for their
commitment to finding real solutions.”

A full text of the JUSTICE Act can be read here, and a section by section analysis is here. A summary is below:

Law Enforcement Reform

The JUSTICE Act strengthens the training methods and tactics throughout law enforcement jurisdictions, especially regarding de-escalation of force and the duty to intervene, providing law enforcement with new funding to do so, and will also end the
practice of utilizing chokeholdsAdditionally, the bill will reform hiring practices by providing more resources to ensure the makeup of police departments more closely matches the communities they serveThe JUSTICE Act also
ensures when a candidate is
interviewed, the department looking to hire will have access to their prior disciplinary recordsToo often, after a tragic incident, we have learned the offending officer had a disciplinary past in another jurisdiction of which their current employer was
unaware

Accountability

Studies show that when body cameras are properly used violent encounters decrease significantlyThe JUSTICE Act will put more body cameras on the streets, and ensure that departments are both using the cameras and storing their data properlyJUSTICE also
requires a report establishing best practices for the hiring, firing, suspension, and discipline of law enforcement officers

Transparency

Currently, only about 40 percent of police officers from jurisdictions nationwide report to the FBI after an incident where an officer has discharged his or her weapon or used forceThe bill will require full reporting in these two areasThere is also very
little data as to when, where and why no knock warrants are used, and the JUSTICE Act will require reporting in this area as well

Additional Steps

The JUSTICE Act will finally make lynching a federal crimeIt also creates two commissions to study and offer solutions to a broader range of challenges facing black men and boys, and the criminal justice system as a whole

Fellow SC Senator Lindsey Graham said he believes the JUSTICE Act will make a difference in America.

"This proposal reinforces the need for better community policing, best practices and creating more transparency when it comes to reporting encounters with law enforcement throughout the country," Graham said in a news release. "I
hope our Democratic
colleagues will take this proposal seriously, and that all of us work together to find common ground to bring reform to policing in America.”

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