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Congressman Cohen Votes for George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

June 25, 2020

In floor speech, says “Police are mostly good but the ones that aren’t need to be brought to justice”

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee that voted to advance the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to a floor vote last week, today applauded passage of the landmark measure. The vote was 236 to 181.

Congressman Cohen participated in the debate on the bill this afternoon. In his floor debate remarks, Congressman Cohen said:

"This is a good bill. Its time is now. It collects data on bad cops so other police departments know about it. It collects data on the use of deadly force. It prohibits choke holds. It makes reforms to deadly force usage. It sets up an independent system of judgment on officers where there won't be home cooking and hand-in-glove law as it is currently. And there will be better training: racial bias and de-escalation.

"I was embarrassed to see the Republican response. It was a sham on the lives of George Floyd, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, all the other people – and in Memphis, Steven Askew and Darrius Stewart – whose lives have been cut short by improper activities and deadly force by police officers…

"Police are mostly good but the ones that aren't need to be brought to justice."

See Congressman Cohen's entire floor speech here.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act contains several provisions that Congressman Cohen has sponsored in recent years, including the National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act (H.R. 119), Police CAMERA Act (H.R. 120), and Police Training and Independent Review Act (H.R. 125). See Congressman Cohen's op-ed on the bill here.

Earlier today, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland unveiled a new website, JusticeInPolicing.us, to help educate and engage the public on House Democrats' legislation to end misconduct and racial bias in law enforcement. The site, which outlines the reforms contained in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (H.R. 7120), invites Americans to share their views on the bill, and they can choose to sign on as a citizen cosponsor. Their comments on the bill will be shared with their Member of Congress.

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