Lakewood, Colo. – Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) became an original cosponsor of H.R. 7120, the Justice in Policing Act, House Democrats’ proposal to address systemic racial discrimination by law enforcement by holding police accountable, improving transparency of police misconduct and use-of-force, and improving police training and practices.

“Every incident of excessive police force against an unarmed African American or person of color – anywhere – is wrong. Every person in this country, regardless of the color of their skin, should be able to live without fear of discrimination or violence,” said Perlmutter. “Sadly, for decades there has been a tinder box of racial and social injustice in our country. Tensions have understandably exploded, and it has ignited some real emotions and desire for justice as communities of color have faced criminal, economic, and social injustice for too long.”

This sweeping legislation will take numerous key steps to achieve transformative, structural change to combat the pattern of police brutality and racial injustice, including:

• Banning all chokeholds;

• Banning no-knock warrants in drug cases;

• Ending racial, religious and discriminatory profiling;

• Eliminating the qualified immunity doctrine that is a barrier to holding police officers accountable for wrongful conduct;

• Establishing a National Police Misconduct Registry to improve transparency and prevent problematic officers who are fired or leave one agency, from moving to another jurisdiction without any accountability;

• Requiring data collection, including mandatory body cameras and dashboard cameras;

• Establishing new standards for policing and the Public Safety Innovation grants for community-based organizations to help reimagine policing in their communities;

• Making lynching a federal hate crime; and more.

“I am honored to join my Democratic colleagues to co-sponsor this transformative legislation,” added Perlmutter. “This is a difficult moment for us. There’s a lot of work to do in this country as we recover from the coronavirus health emergency and its economic fallout and from the inequality and injustice that exists and the violence and unrest it has uncovered. Together, we have to address these issues now. Without justice, there can be no order.”

###