President Joe Biden issued an executive order to reform federal policing on Wednesday on the second anniversary of George Floyd’s murder.
The president is expected to ask federal law enforcement agencies to:
- Revise use-of-force policies
- Create a national registry of officers terminated for misconduct
- Encourage state and city police to restrict chokeholds and no-knock warrants
- Restrict transfers of military equipment to law enforcement agencies
The administration started to work on this recent executive action after bipartisan discussions to pass police reform legislation in Congress stalled in 2021.
“We know full well that an executive order cannot address America’s policing crisis the same way Congress has the ability to, but we’ve got to do everything we can,” said a statement from NAACP President Derrick Johnson.
Floyd’s murder by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020 sparked nationwide protests and Chauvin was convicted on state charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.