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Republican Senators Working on Police Reform Bill

(Worthy News) – US Senate Republicans announced on Tuesday that they are working on a bill to address police reform and racial injustice, Reuters reported. The move came after Congressional Democrats put forward police reform legislation on Monday.

Addressing the new police reform bill, Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters that Tim Scott, the only black Republican Senator, will be leading work on the proposed legislation. McConnell added: “We’re still wrestling with America’s original sin. We try to get better, but every now and then it’s perfectly clear we’re a long way from the finish line.”

Although the full text of the Republican bill has not been released, CNN published a draft outline that showed the new legislation would require training for officers to intervene when colleagues are using excessive force. This is specifically pertinent to the case of George Floyd where three former police officers have been charged with aiding and abetting murder, in that they failed to prevent a senior officer from kneeling on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

The Republican bill will also call for the establishment of a commission to review the criminal justice system and another to study societal conditions affecting black men and boys. Moreover, the bill proposes there should be a review board for citizens to help police departments investigate excessive use of force incidents. While the Democrat bill reportedly bans police from using choke-holds, the Republican bill so far does not have such a ban, Reuters reported.

Senator Scott reportedly said he hoped the Republican bill would be ready on Friday.