Houston Chronicle by Benjamin Wermund June 8, 2020
Texas Democrats Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green champion sweeping police reform bill in Congress
After a week of mass protests demanding action, House Democrats on Monday rolled out sweeping legislation aimed at curbing police violence that led to George Floyd's death — which they called a sacrifice that “has brought America to its knees.â€
“He died a vicious death. If anything, he sacrificed his life — his life was sacrificed — for the nation to answer his call,†said U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat and senior member of the House Judiciary Committee overseeing the response, which includes legislation she filed. “This is a seismic and one-time opportunity to be able to deal with where we are today.â€
The legislation would ban choke holds and no-knock search warrants in drug cases, bolster the Justice Department’s authority to crack down on misconduct and chip away at some of officers’ legal protections when they are sued in civil court, among other things. It comes as sustained protests have erupted in cities across the nation, from small towns such as Vidor, Texas, to Washington, D.C., in the weeks since Floyd died while a Minneapolis police officer pinned him to the ground with a knee to the neck.
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Texas-Democrats-Sheila-Jackson-Lee-and-Al-Green-15325011.php
