Underwood Joins Historic Unveiling of the Justice in Policing Act

Press Release

Today, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) joined members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and House and Senate leadership for the introduction of historic legislation to address racial injustice and instances of police brutality. The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 led by CBC Chairwoman Karen Bass (D-CA), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) would create stronger systems of transparency and accountability in policing across the country and safeguard every American's right to safety and justice. The bill would prevent police brutality, end racial profiling, and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Underwood is an original cosponsor of the legislation.

"For centuries, Black Americans have experienced racial injustice in so many aspects of life, including treatment by law enforcement. In the last few weeks, I have been in awe of protests and calls to action from community members in northern Illinois, and I agree with them: enough is enough. Today, I joined over 200 of my colleagues to introduce the Justice in Policing Act to create stronger systems of transparency and accountability in policing across the country and safeguard every American's right to safety and justice," said Underwood.

The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 would:

Ban the use of chokeholds and carotid holds at the federal level;
Ban no-knock warrants in federal drug cases;
Create law enforcement development programs to foster policing best practices;
Incentivize law enforcement to meet a gold standard in training, hiring and de-escalation strategies to address systemic biases;
Establish funding for state attorneys general to investigate excessive uses of force and police misconduct;
Require the U.S. attorney general to create law enforcement accreditation standard recommendations based on President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century policing;
Reforms qualified immunity so that individuals are not barred from recovering damages when police violate their constitutional rights;
Grant subpoena power to the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, to conduct pattern and practice investigations; and
Establish a DOJ task force to coordinate the investigation, prosecution and enforcement efforts of federal, state and local governments in cases related to law enforcement misconduct.

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