WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, a bipartisan group of Senators working on legislation to reform policing in this country announced they could not reach an agreement. In contention was reform of qualified immunity, which has allowed police officers to avoid criminal liability for brutality, violence, and murder performed on the job. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would have ended qualified immunity, was already passed by the House earlier this year, without a single Republican voting in support. 

Stephany Spaulding, Just Democracy Spokesperson and Founder of Truth and Conciliation, issued the following statement in response:

“The House passed a robust police reform bill earlier this year, but once again it was suspended in the Senate because our institutions are so deeply broken and unrepresentative. It is exhausting to keep marching, to keep demanding police accountability, to keep living in fear of flashing red and blue lights in our rearview mirrors — when one Senate rule continues to block all chances of reform. The Senate should be designed to respond to the will of the majority and millions of Americans flooded the streets to demand real action, regardless of racist Senate rules. Democrats cannot continue looking for ten Republican votes to protect Black and Brown lives. Republicans have shown time and again they’re not interested. Police reform is too important to simply give up — the only path forward is to eliminate the filibuster and reckon with real democracy reforms.”

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