Washington, DC – Today, on the second anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, President Biden announced an executive order to reform policing in America. In it, he directs federal agencies to revise their use-of-force policies, create a national registry of officers fired for misconduct, use grants to encourage state and local police to tighten restrictions on chokeholds and no-knock warrants, and restrict the transfer of most military equipment to law enforcement agencies. Many of these actions are in line with those that the U.S Conference of Mayors (USCM) has championed in its plan for police reform and racial justice.
Welcoming the order, Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director of the USCM, released the following statement:
“We thank the president for his leadership on this important issue. America’s mayors know that we must reset the relationship between our police and residents, and that we can only do so by advancing policing practices that respect and protect human life and ensure safety for all. These measures will help. They’ll improve policing in America, and many of them mirror the very proposals suggested by the United States Conference of Mayors in our 2020 report produced by our police reform and racial justice working group.
“America’s cities and mayors know that reform and public safety are not mutually exclusive—and that inaction is unacceptable. Until we reckon with the failures of our current system, especially for communities of color, until we recognize how those failures have spawned dangerous divides between police and communities, until we make a real effort for change, we cannot improve public safety.
“It’s time to renew the compact between people and the police and to restore trust and accountability, and the president’s executive order is a vital step in that direction.”