Joe Biden signs partial police reform following alleged police inaction in a Texas school massacre.
Washington DC: 2 years after the death of George Floyd, President Biden signs an executive order for police reform. Democrats tried and failed to pass more comprehensive measures to curb police brutality. The new legislation will create a national registry of officers with a history of misconduct. The system will be voluntary and not mandatory. This bill will also restrict chokeholds and no-knock warrants.
The move comes after a heartbreaking shooting incident at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Reports suggest both school security and local police were slow and ineffective in their response.
How did US police militarize?
ACLU’s report on the militarization of the American police shows a violent trend taking shape. Biden’s order would hope to correct a few of the following findings.
The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) touches on a few key oversights in policing protocol:
- Use of Military Equipment
- Lack of Oversight
- Racial biases
- Use of violent tactics.
Use of Military Equipment
A survey of a single police unit in Arizona owned 120 assault rifles, 5 armoured vehicles, 10 helicopters and a .50 calibre machine gun. The machine gun in particular is able to shoot through multiple city blocks. Records show that the Department of Defense’s 1033 programme allowed the transfer of military-grade weaponry to local police fr free.
In May of 2014, a Wisconsin family awoke to the sound of armed officers entering their home. A flash-bang grenade deployed in a child’s bedroom put a toddler in a medically-induced coma. The boy survived, but with extensive injuries. Poice later concluded the family had little to do with the investigation which spurred the forced entry
Lack of Oversight
A SWAT (special weapons and tactics) team is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. They are overrepresented in the number of deaths that use police firearms in the USA. When contacted about data collection, 255 agencies declined ACLU’s requests.
The ACLU lists the following reasons that agencies mentioned in their decline to provide data:
- The requested documents contained trade secrets.
- Concerns about jeopardizing law enforcement effectiveness.
- The requested documents did not constitute “public records.”
- The request was “overbroad and voluminous.”
- The costs associated with producing the documents were simply prohibitive
“It strains credibility to believe that the information contained in SWAT incident reports contains trade secrets. These are simply excuses to avoid complying with the ACLU’s request. In fact, the public should not even have to resort to public records requests to obtain information about policing practices—this information should be readily available.” -ACLU
The report further shows that data is sporadic and virtually nonexistent with SWAT teams.
Racial Biases and Violent Tactics
American police are the most armed in the developed world. Police departments have been able to purchase military equipment for use in civilian areas. Traffic light stops, routine drug searches and other minor events turn violent and often fatal. The use of chokeholds and firearms is common, causing the infamous deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
George Floyd
The city of Minneapolis erupted in anger over the 2020 death of George Floyd. The 46-year old Floyd died after having officer Derek Chauvin kneel on his neck for several minutes. The police were present to investigate the alleged use of a counterfeit $20 note. However, nearby CCTV cameras and a teenager’s cellphone video captured the entire encounter. However, Chauvin is seen ignoring Floyd’s calls for help until his breathing stopped.
Kneeling on the neck is a common technique used to subdue an uncooperative individual. It was argued that the police used this to detain Floyd even though he was clearly incapacitated.
Breonna Taylor
Before Floyd’s death came the passing of Breonna Taylor. Firstly, 7 police officers entered the home Taylor shared with her partner through forced entry. Taylor’s partner Kenneth Walker discharged a firearm, not knowing that the intruders were plainclothes police officers. The single warning shot walker fired, causing the police to shoot 32 times into the home. Breonna Taylor, an ER technician died from her injuries at 12.40 AM.
Police say that they made efforts to announce themselves to the residents but Walker and neighbours deny hearing anything. The drug search never took place following the incidents.
Both the victims were African-Americans who make up over 39% of those impacted by SWAT. ACLU also reports that people of colour are more likely to be impacted in large groups of people and families. Drug investigations similar to the one in Breonna Tayor’s case were a how a majority of minorities were impacted.
The current police reform bill is not likely to prevent as many as the yearly 1,000 deaths that take place but could provide a sensible direction. The original bill Biden hoped to pass contained far more restrictions but did not pass through congress due to republican pushback.
