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Congressman Jason Crow Helps Pass the Justice in Policing Act

June 26, 2020

Congressman Jason Crow today voted to pass the Justice in Policing Act, the first-ever bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement and build trust between law enforcement and our communities. The bill includes The George Floyd Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act, which Rep. Jason Crow introduced with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Rep. Ilhan Omar earlier this month. Crow's office began working on the legislation following the death of Elijah McClain, an unarmed 23-year-old in Aurora, who died in police custody.

In his remarks on the House floor in support of the bill, Crow said "I rise today in honor of Elijah McClain, a young black man from Aurora, Colorado who died in police custody. He was 23 years old. Before coming to the floor today, I asked Elijah's mother what she wanted to tell the world about her son. Here are her words.

"Elijah spread joy everywhere he went. He was a lover of all beings. He dedicated his energy to healing others through his work as a massage therapist and playing his violin at the animal shelter to keep them from being lonely. Elijah's name will live on in the hearts of all who knew him."

Colorado has been blessed by Elijah's legacy and last week we passed the most transformative police reform bill in the country. Tonight it is Congress' turn to do the same. So, I urge my colleagues to join with me and pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The time for talk in Congress is over."

The Justice in Policing Act of 2020

  • Prohibits federal, state, and local law enforcement from racial, religious and discriminatory profiling, and mandates training on racial, religious, and discriminatory profiling for all law enforcement.
  • Limits chokeholds, carotid holds and no-knock warrants at the federal level and limits the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local law enforcement.
  • Mandates the use of dashboard cameras and body cameras for federal officers and requires state and local law enforcement to use existing federal funds to ensure the use of police body cameras.
  • Establishes a National Police Misconduct Registry to prevent problematic officers who are fired or leave an agency for disciplinary misconduct from working in another jurisdiction without accountability.
  • Amends federal criminal statute from "willfulness" to a "recklessness" standard to successfully identify and prosecute police misconduct.
  • Reforms qualified immunity so that individuals are not barred from recovering damages when police violate their constitutional rights.
  • Requires state and local law enforcement agencies to report use of force data, disaggregated by race, sex, disability, religion, age.
  • Improves the use of pattern and practice investigations at the federal level by granting the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division subpoena power and creates a grant program for state attorneys general to develop authority to conduct independent investigations into problematic police departments.

WATCH: Crow's speech on the House floor.

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