Activists had fought for years to get elected leaders to see
and act on what was happening in Black communities across
America. But officers who killed or brutalized Black people
could say that they did it because they had been in fear for
their life, whether or not the person was armed. But then,
30 years ago as we watched that video, we were convinced
that justice would finally be served, and the truth would be
exposed to the world. We were right to an extent.
VIDEOS AMERICA CAN’T IGNORE
People across the country felt outraged at what they saw on
the tape, but that anger did not translate into large-scale
change. Los Angeles amended its city charter to rein in the
largely unchecked chief of police, who around that time
suggested that Black people were dying from chokeholds at
the hands of police at disproportionate rates because our
neck veins were different from “normal people’s” neck veins.
While these local actions were significant at the time, the
reforms pretty much stopped there. There had been a moment
of understanding and an opportunity for change, but it
passed. In what could now be viewed as a rigged trial (due
to changed venue and a jury with no Black people on it), the
jury didn’t convict any of the four police officers involved
in the assault. After that verdict, I drove through the
intersection of Florence and Normandie in South Los Angeles
on my way to a meeting with other activists and saw our
community begin to burn in anger and despair.
Black and Brown people in this country have now endured 30
years of police brutality and violence since Rodney King was
beaten. On May 25, 2020, the world witnessed yet another
video, this time of the slow killing of George Floyd. Tens
of thousands took to the streets demanding change, not only
in Minneapolis but in nearly every major U.S. city and in
cities around the world. Thirty years later, I stand hopeful
yet again. There is a systemic problem with policing in the
United States. By enacting transformative reform on a
national level, we have a chance to address it.
WHAT REAL POLICE REFORM LOOKS LIKE
Though named in his honor, Congress must not pass the George
Floyd Justice in Policing Act to honor one man — but to
honor all the unarmed people who have been brutalized or
killed by police since his death and the many more who were
brutalized or killed prior. Last year I introduced this bill
to act on these long overdue reforms. I developed it
carefully in consultation with many stakeholders, including
some police officials.
The bill would introduce common sense reforms such as:
requiring police officer accreditation; promulgating best
practices; maintaining a registry of officers dismissed for
excessive use of force; providing grants for communities to
reinvasion public safety; and banning the chokeholds and
no-knock warrants in federal drug cases, which have been at
the root of recent high-profile tragedies. The House passed
the bill last year, but it never got a vote in the Senate.
The 117th Congress will take up the bill again this week
with the opportunity to set us on a path towards finally
addressing the issue of police brutality in a transformative
way.
This is a moment of understanding and an opportunity for
change yet again and we cannot let it pass. When the police
officers were acquitted at their trial for the beating of
Rodney King, I felt hopeless and defeated. It felt like his
life did not matter. That’s the feeling we will continue to
have until we act. We cannot afford to wait another 30
years. Next week, Derek Chauvin will stand trial for
second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the
death of George Floyd. At some point, our nation needs to
make a decision about how many more instances of police
brutality do we need to witness before.
Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., represents
Culver City and parts of Lost Angeles in the United States
House of Representatives and is the former chair of the
Congressional Black Caucus. Follow her on Twitter: @RepKarenBass
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