On the second anniversary of George Floyd’s death, President Joe Biden signed an executive order aimed at changing policing procedures.
I just signed an Executive Order that delivers the most significant police reform in decades. It will increase accountability, ban chokeholds, restrict no-knock entries, and more for federal law enforcement officers
The directive establishes a national register of officers who have been dismissed for wrongdoing and urges state and local law enforcement to tighten chokehold and no-knock warrant limits. According to NBC News, it also prohibits military equipment from being transferred to law enforcement agencies and requires all federal agents to wear activated body cams.
The new executive order comes after Congress failed to provide bipartisan support to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
“I know progress can be slow and frustrating, and there’s a concern that the reckoning on race inspired two years ago is beginning to fade,” Biden said. “Today, we’re acting. We’re showing that speaking out matters, being engaged matters, and that the work of our time, healing the soul of this nation, is ongoing and unfinished and requires all of us never to give up. Always to keep the faith.”
First, the Executive Order promotes accountability. It creates a new national law enforcement accountability database, strengthens pattern and practice investigations, and mandates all federal agents wear and activate body cameras while on patrol.
This Executive Order includes reforms that have long been talked about, but we’re finally implementing. By building public trust, we can strengthen public safety and we can more effectively fight rising crime in our communities. We can show what’s possible when we work together.
