Houston-area U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is once again calling for federal legislation to reform police tactics around the country.
This comes after her heavy endorsement for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which was authored back in 2021, after the Black Houstonian was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer.
“The report makes clear that the systemic problems within the LMPD are rooted in failures in leadership, training, supervision, and accountability – deficiencies in policing that have become all too familiar in the wake of killings like that of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Tyre Nichols. All of these actions have been rejected by good police officers across the country. That is why I renew my call for nationwide policing and public safety reform and working on the commitment to introduce federal legislation with my congressional colleagues,” Lee said.
Lee's latest call for action is in response to the Department of Justice releasing a scathing review of the Louisville Police Department, citing the use of an aggressive style of policing towards people of color, and those most vulnerable in the community.
"I am shocked and saddened by the Department of Justice's (DOJ) report, but I am hopeful that the forthcoming consent decree between DOJ, Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government, and the Louisville Metro Police Department, will provide the citizens of Louisville with some comfort that they will no longer suffer under the tyranny of some of the officers that have set the tone for the LMPD."
Locally, several police reforms have been made in the aftermath of George Floyd's death, including the banning of chokeholds citywide. Houston police officers are also going through enhanced training, and an online platform was created to register complaints against Houston police officers.
Federally, the George Floyd Act is stuck in limbo. It would, among other things, give power to the U.S. Justice Department to issue subpoenas to police departments, establish a federal registry of police misconduct complaints and disciplinary actions, in addition to requiring federally uniformed officers to have body worn cameras.
The legislation died back in 2021, after passing the House of Representatives, but not the Senate.
