IT WASN’T what President Joe Biden and the family of George Floyd had hoped – that the president would mark the somber anniversary of Floyd’s killing by a now-incarcerated former police officer by signing a sweeping federal law overhauling policing.
But the Floyd family, after spending more than an hour in a private meeting with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House, sounded optimistic as they urged Americans to join them in pressuring Congress for reform.
“If you can make federal laws to protect the bird, which is a bald eagle, you can make federal laws to protect people of color,” Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, said as the family left the White House. Despite the fact that the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act did not get enacted by Biden’s deadline of the anniversary of the Minneapolis man’s death, “we’re just thankful for what’s going on,” Philonise Floyd said, referring to ongoing bipartisan negotiations over the bill.
The measure would, among other things, make it easier for federal authorities to prosecute police misconduct, ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, and create a database so dangerous police officers can’t simply move to another department without accountability.
Portraits and Voices From Minneapolis
Lawmakers are stuck on a couple of key points: whether police should lose the “qualified immunity” that spares them from being held personally liable in civil lawsuits, and a part of the law called Section 242. That provision, Democrats say, should hold police accountable for “reckless” misconduct during a criminal prosecution. Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina Republican, says the standard should be higher, with only “willful” misconduct subject to criminal prosecution.
Biden “said that he doesn’t want to sign a bill that doesn’t have substance and meaning. So he is going to be patient to make sure it’s a right bill, not a rush bill,” Floyd family attorney Benjamin Crump told reporters.
George Floyd’s nephew, Brandon Williams, said Biden wasn’t happy that the deadline wasn’t met but wanted a bill that “holds George’s legacy intact.”
Biden has made the Floyd case a personal cause, meeting with the family after George Floyd’s death, attending the funeral and mentioning the case in his speech to a joint session of Congress earlier this year.
In a statement after the meeting, Biden recalled his discussion with Floyd’s young daughter Gianna the day before her father’s funeral, when the little girl told then-candidate Biden, Daddy changed the world.”
“He has,” Biden said in his statement. But “to deliver real change, we must have accountability when law enforcement officers violate their oaths, and we need to build lasting trust between the vast majority of the men and women who wear the badge honorably and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect. We can and must have both accountability and trust in our justice system.”
Terrence Floyd, another brother of the victim, called it “an honor” to meet with Biden and Harris and said, “I felt like it was a very productive conversation and I’m grateful for that. I thank everybody for the love.”
The family led a brief, muted chant they said was for the Houston-based family members who could not be there Tuesday. Floyd’s 7-year-old daughter Gianna said, “Say his name!” and the rest of the attendees responded, “George Floyd.” The group said it was off to Capitol Hill to meet with Scott and another chief negotiator, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey.
Memorial events, including a candlelight vigil in Minneapolis, were held or planned in cities across the country to mark the anniversary of Floyd’s killing, an event that sparked protests and a renewed demand for racial justice – especially in policing.
The two sticking points over the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act – along with an overall highly partisan mood of Capitol Hill – have threatened to bring down the whole package. But both Booker and Scott have said they have made progress and believe an accord can be reached.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday dismissed the missed – if arbitrary – deadline her boss had imposed and appeared hopeful lawmakers could find a compromise.
“I’m not here to put a new deadline on it,” Psaki told reporters, adding that Biden wanted to sign a law “as soon as possible.”
The president “remains closely engaged,” she said. Biden wants to give “space for them to negotiate and to move to a place where he can sign it into law,” she added.
- USNEWS
