WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosa (D-NV) announced her co-sponsorship of the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, comprehensive policing reform legislation aimed at increasing law enforcement accountability, as well as addressing biased policing practices and preventing instances of racial profiling.
“We must take action to address systemic racism and unjust behavior in our criminal justice system,” dijo el Senador Rosen. “For far too long, we’ve seen individuals being targeted by law enforcement due to the color of their skin. This kind of discriminatory practice is unacceptable in Nevada, and in America. The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 will help to establish strong standards for law enforcement training, accountability, and practices in our nation. As our national conversation on this subject continues, I pledge to keep fighting for equality and justice for all Americans.”
BACKGROUND: los 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;
- Bans chokeholds, carotid holds, and no-knock warrants;
- 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 police officers who are fired or placed on leave from moving to another jurisdiction to work without any accountability;
- Amends federal criminal statute from “willfulness” to a “recklessness” standard to make it easier to prosecute egregious police misconduct;
- Limits the use of the qualified immunity doctrine so that individuals are not barred from recovering damages when police violate their constitutional rights;
- Establishes public safety innovation grants for community-based organizations to create local commissions and task forces to help communities re-imagine and develop concrete, just, and equitable public safety approaches;
- Provides for the development of uniform standards for law enforcement development and training, best practices, and accreditation;
- Requires state and local law enforcement agencies to report use-of-force data, disaggregated by race, sex, disability, religion, age;
- Grants the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division subpoena power to conduct pattern and practices investigations;
- Creates a grant program for states to develop processes to investigate problematic police departments;
- Establishes a Department of Justice task force to coordinate the investigation, prosecution, and enforcement efforts of federal, state, and local governments in cases related to law enforcement misconduct.
Rosen recently announced her co-sponsorship of the Police Training and Independent Review Act, legislation that promotes training in fair and impartial policing, and encourages the use of independent investigations and, if warranted, prosecutions of the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers.
Last week, Senator Rosa joined colleagues in calling on the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice(DOJ) to conduct an investigation into the patterns and practices of racially discriminatory and violent policing in the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD).
Last week, Senator Rosa also held a listening session with faith leaders in Nevada’s African American community to discuss national events following the tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as how Nevadans can work together to address ongoing issues of hate and systemic racism in America.
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