WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) hosted a news conference call as he helped introduce the Justice in Policing Act this week, a comprehensive package that puts important policing reforms into place, helps ends racial profiling in the criminal justice system and works to improve police-community relations.
“People all around our state and our country are calling for meaningful change in our justice system, and it’s up to us to show them we’re listening, and we’re taking action,” said Brown.
The Justice in Policing Act would:
Brown was joined on today’s call by Stephanie Hightower, President and CEO of the Columbus Urban League, to discuss the importance of Brown’s bill.
“If we’ve learned one lesson from American history it is this: civil rights protections demand federal intervention,” said Ms. Hightower. “Individual states couldn’t halt the spread of slavery. Only a national Civil War achieved this goal. Individual states didn’t guarantee equal access, even to the voting booth. Only federal intervention, first during Reconstruction and then again through the 1964 and 1968 Civil Rights acts opened these doors. Separate but unequal didn’t end until the U.S. Supreme Court spoke in 1954. Clearly, policing reform that protects the lives of all people won’t happen until federal leaders once again speak with a united voice. On behalf of the Columbus Urban League, we’re proud to support our national leaders if they act to ensure real justice for people of color.”
The package also includes Brown’s End Racial and Religious Profiling Act, which would better enforce equal protection laws and work to end racial profiling in the criminal justice system.
More information on the Justice in Policing Act can be found HERE.
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