06.19.2020

MLive: Michigan Sen. Gary Peters working on congressional bipartisan action in wake of George Floyd’s death

By: Malachi Barrett

Michigan U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, said George Floyd’s death is spurring Congress to take concrete steps toward policing reforms.

A haunting video of Floyd slowly dying while a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes sparked protests against police brutality in all 50 states and several Michigan cities in the last month. Floyd’s death also inspired a variety of bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing future incidents and providing more equitable outcomes in interactions between police and people of color.

Peters said Congress is reacting to the demand for action expressed across the country. This week, he introduced legislation co-sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, which would provide federal grants for police recruits who work in the community they live.

“There’s no question that we have to act,” Peters said in an interview. “We cannot keep talking about this, because we have seen these images over many years but certainly the murder of George Floyd set off even more energy. Enough is enough. I think it’s incumbent upon us to deal with this in a bipartisan way. Bipartisan solutions are always those that are longer-lasting, and I hope that we can come together and pass meaningful reforms.”

Peters’ bill is an attempt to help local law enforcement reflect the demographics of neighborhoods they police. On a press call with reporters, Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said the bill would “goes a long way” toward addressing the issues departments often have in recruiting, training and retaining recruits from their communities.

Napoleon said police departments should be allowed to require people to live in the areas they are responsible for protecting, noting the stipulation was in place when he was hired. Napoleon served as chief of the Detroit Police Department from 1998 to 2001.

“While Detroit has not been without incident, you did not see some of the violent extensive violence that you saw in other communities and quite frankly, I think that is because the city of Detroit is the beneficiary of over 45 years of a very active police-community relationship that started when I was a young rookie in the police academy until the time I left as chief of police in 2001,” Napoleon said.

Peters is also working to advance legislation that would create a congressional commission charged with performing an 18-month review of the criminal justice system and American law enforcement practices. The senator said this would be the first comprehensive review since President Lyndon Johnson’s effort in the 1960s.

The Johnson Crime Commission included 200 recommendations, including the creation of a national emergency phone number, the collection of crime statistics, improved training and standards for law enforcement and other sweeping reforms.

More recently, former President Barack Obama organized a task force that created a set of recommendations. President Donald Trump also assembled a commission on law enforcement in January.

Peters’ bill passed in the Senate at the end of 2018 but was not taken up in the U.S. House by the end of the legislative session. The bill boasts support from the NAACP, National Association of Police Organizations and the Police Officers Association of Michigan.

Peters said his National Justice Commission should be complemented by immediate reforms to ban the use of chokeholds and create better opportunities for local police departments to access de-escalation training. The senator said the commission could advance more long-term measures, like creating a system that ensures complaints against officers are reviewed by an independent body.

“Right now, for most departments, if a police officer is accused of wrongdoing, the police department internally investigates them and makes a determination,” Peters said. “That should move to an independent investigator so that the people in the community trust the decision that was actually made. All too often people will look at a decision made internally within the department believes that the ‘good old boy’s network’ is protecting its own. And that’s not acceptable.”

Peters said he’s undecided on whether he supports efforts to end qualified immunity, which prevents government officials from being held personally liable for constitutional rights violations. U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, I-Cascade Township, introduced a bill that would allow people to obtain financial relief when their constitution rights are infringed.

“I’m reviewing the legislation,” Peters said. “It’s a complex issue ... I think the goal is to make sure that folks are held accountable for actions, particularly actions that are blatantly illegal. Now the question is, what is the best way to accomplish that?”

Additional possible topics of review that Peters highlighted included ways to speed up the justice system and prevent people from enduring lengthy stints in jail while awaiting trail. He said efforts to reduce recidivism and ensure formerly incarcerated people have access to good-paying jobs is also vital.

Peters said he was disappointed legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., did not require independent investigations when deadly force is used by law enforcement officers. Scott, the Senate’s lone black Republican, is leading the GOP effort to pass policing reform in the Senate. Peters said he is still reviewing the legislation and has yet to make a decision on whether he will support it.

Unlike a police reform package put forward by House Democrats, the Senate bill does not ban the use of chokeholds by law enforcement or “no-knock raids.”