Two years after the brutal murder of George Floyd, Vice President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to improve enforcement practices.
Representatives Cory Booker (D-NJ), Karen Bass (D-CA), Reverend Al Sharpton, and representatives of the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor joined Vice President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday (May 25) to sign the historic order. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was signed by Vice President Joe Biden on the same day as the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 children and two adults were killed.
This begs the question, "When in God's name will we take the steps necessary not just to halt the slaughter in this nation but to profoundly alter its scale?" before addressing the executive order at hand, inquired of the president. He went on to ask, "You know, where is the spine?" "Where is the guts to take on such a large and well-funded organization?"
George Floyd was next on Biden's agenda after he had confirmed that he would be appointing a new director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
In addition to the Vice President and cabinet members in attendance, there were also representatives from Congress, civil rights activists, law enforcement authorities, and other dignitaries, including the family in front of me and a little girl who told me, 'My daddy is going to alter history.'" Honey, he will. He's going to do it. Two years ago, "they've lost a bit of their spirit," said Biden. "However, such responsibility is all too unusual for many individuals, including many families here. So, while running for president, I said that I would do all in my power to bring about significant and long-lasting changes to the way the police operate.
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For example, a new national law enforcement accountability database will track records of misconduct, all federal agents will be required to wear and activate body cameras while on patrol, chokeholds will be banned, no-knock warrants will be restricted, use-of-force policies will be tightened to emphasize deescalation and the duty to stop another officer, and a new approach to recruit, train, and promote officers will be implemented as part of the George Floyd Justice Act.
It will be the most important police reform in decades, said Biden. In law, it applies to just 100,000 federal law enforcement officers—the whole federal law enforcement force. Even though they're tied to federal incentives and best practices, we anticipate the order to have a substantial influence on local law enforcement organizations."
You can see the complete speech by Biden and Harris, as aired by CBS News, down below.
