The U.S. Lower House Judiciary has approved a police reform bill. The document, developed by the Democratic Party, was supported by 24 congressmen, 14 members of the committee spoke out against. Voting on this initiative at the House level is due next week.

The committee said that there are many examples of the heroic behavior of police officers - several such cases are cited in support of these words.

“But we must admit that too many law enforcement officials do not comply with ethical standards in protecting and serving their community. On the contrary, the reality is that too many Americans, especially African Americans, perceive police as a threat to their freedoms, dignity and often security, ”the authors of the document state.

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The document, in particular, imposes an obligation on the country's prosecutor general to create, with the participation of the Ministry of Justice, a national register of cases of police misconduct. Moreover, access to this kind of data, according to the authors of the initiative, should be free, so that social activists can also get acquainted with it.

In addition, the bill also provides for a ban on the use of force by police, which in any way can lead to disruption of blood flow to the detainee’s brain, as well as those that interfere with his breathing.

If the bill is passed, police officers will be required to avoid using force against detainees whenever possible and to use physical force only when all other possible instruments are exhausted.

“A federal law enforcement officer does not have the right to resort to the intentional use of fatal force against any person, unless the use of deadly violence is a necessary last resort to prevent imminent serious bodily harm or death of a police officer or other person,” in the bill.

The authors of the document also paid much attention to the topic of racism, including a clause on the prohibition of Lynch courts, the practice of extrajudicial killings, widespread in the United States at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

“Despite the apologies made by the Senate and raising the level of awareness and enlightenment on the historical issue of lynching in our country, after 100 years of unsuccessful legislative efforts, Congress should pass a law on which lynching will become a federal crime,” the bill emphasizes.

From the point of view of experts, the authors of the initiative did not accidentally focus on the topic of racism. As a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Konstantin Blokhin noted in an interview with RT, in this way the Democrats seek to strike at their main opponent - the current president of the United States.

"This is a fairly competent approach, the Democrats are trying to turn their attention to Trump,which is now more than ever associated with racism. In addition, this is how they distract society from deep socio-economic problems. Talking about racism is easier than solving them, ”Blokhin emphasized.

In a new round

Recall that last week was marked by a new surge in protest activity in the United States. Another round of popular outrage was triggered by the tragedy in Atlanta, where on June 12 another incident involving the police occurred.

It was reported that African-American Reichard Brooks was resting in a car at one of the fast-food restaurants. The car interfered with other visitors, and they called the police. The test showed that the African American was intoxicated. When trying to detain the man resisted, grabbed a stun gun from one of the policemen and tried to escape, after which law enforcement officers used weapons. Brooks soon died from his injuries in the hospital.

The actions of the police were condemned by the mayor of Keisha, Lance Bottoms. She stated that she did not consider the actions of law enforcement officials justified. After the incident, the head of Atlanta police Erica Shields resigned, urging to restore confidence between the police and citizens.

“Since I deeply and invariably love this city and its police department, I proposed resigning as the head of the city’s police,” she said.

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It also became known the day before that Georgia’s authorities were ready to indict former police officer Garrett Rolf, who injured Brooks. This was reported by the Fulton County Attorney Paul Howard.

The prosecutor said a total of 11 charges will be brought against the ex-policeman, including an attack on Brooks. In the event that Rolfe is found guilty, he can be waited either by life imprisonment without the right to parole, or the death penalty.

The prosecutor added that, having studied the video recordings of the incident, the investigators concluded that the actions at the moment the shot was fired at him did not carry the threat of death or serious physical injury to the police.

Against the background of these events, the contradictions in American society are only deepening, experts say. So, in Virginia, unknown vandals wrote on the monument to black tennis player Arthur Ash the slogan “WLM - White Lives Matter (White Lives Matter”), which is used by opponents of the anti-racist campaign BLM (Black Lives Matter, “Black Lives Matter”).

Part of Seattle also remains under the control of those who oppose police brutality and racism, and on June 16, during a protest rally in the American city of Albuquerque, fire was opened and one person was seriously injured.

Deaths of detainees as a result of police actions continue to be noted, despite a widespread protest campaign. In addition to Brooks, in early June, 22-year-old Sean Monterros died at the hands of a policeman. A police officer shot at a young man, believing that he could have a weapon, but, according to media reports, Monterros was unarmed and showed no resistance. By the way, the deceased was not African American.

Workaround

It should be noted that the head of the White House also took the initiative to reform the police amidst the ongoing protests that swept the United States in late May.

On June 16, Donald Trump signed an executive decree on law enforcement reform, which envisages the creation of a system for exchanging information between government agencies about cases of police officers exceeding their authority. It is also suggested that attention be paid to training police officers to train them in using peaceful means of conflict resolution. The document also implies the adoption of stricter rules for the use of force by law enforcement officers.

It is worth noting that in the Trump decree, the emphasis is placed differently than in the Democrats bill. Thus, the document does not say anything about racism, and incidents involving police officers are mentioned as separate cases. One of the sections of the document entitled “Mental health, homelessness and drug addiction” is devoted to explaining the causes of violence by law enforcement officers.

“Since the mid-twentieth century, there has been a reduction in the scope of targeted treatment of mental disorders in America. As a result of ineffective measures, more and more people in need of care for their mental health find themselves on the streets of our country, which leads to an increase in the number of tasks performed by law enforcement officials, ”the presidential decree says.

It is also noted that society should take measures "to ensure safe and humane care for those who suffer from mental illness and substance abuse", which is in the interests of these people.

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According to experts, the head of the White House is trying in this way to turn his attention to the marginalized layers of the population in the context of the situation with protests and tragic incidents involving the police.

“Trump shifts the focus of attention from protesters to marginals, on whom little depends and criticism from which will not bring him reputational damage,” said Konstantin Blokhin.

However, from the point of view of political scientists, the high crime rate in the USA really affects the level of violence used by the police. As Andrei Sidorov, dean of the Moscow State University faculty of world politics, explained in a conversation with RT, the tradition of using American weapons by police was not the least of all as a reaction to high criminality.

“The main task of the US authorities is not to change the norms, although this is also important for the reform of the law enforcement system, but to change the general climate in the country, search for the reasons for the increase in crime, eliminate the existing social imbalances, and change living conditions in potentially criminal areas. Few people are engaged in this in the USA, ”the expert explained.

It is worth noting that in his speech on police reform, the head of the White House said that he did not believe that cases of police officers exceeding their authority were massive.

“There are only a few of them (policemen guilty of the death of unarmed African-Americans. - RT ). I say miserable. A very small percentage. But no one wants to get rid of them more than really good and worthy policemen, ”Trump emphasized.

According to Konstantin Blokhin, now Trump is actively trying to enlist the support of the security forces, such statements serve precisely this purpose.

“White Anglo-Saxon Protestants expect him to have strong, tough actions. Trump wants to wrap up the situation in his favor to show that he is a worthy president, ”said the expert.

A similar point of view is shared by Andrei Sidorov. According to him, now Trump is actively demonstrating his commitment to the “Police Lives Matter” movement (Blue Lives Matter, a movement based on a protest against the slogan Black Lives Matter. - RT ) as part of the election campaign .

“This is a response to protests and demands to abolish the police, which are heard in the United States. At the same time, Trump’s conservative electorate does not accept these slogans, ”said the expert.

Protest fire

At the same time, experts doubt that the initiatives of the Democrats and the White House will help to carry out a truly effective police reform and put an end to the tragic incidents involving law enforcement officers.

“Trump now has only one goal - to suppress the protest movement. In general, the American elite is trying to shift the attention of society to racism, but does not notice that the middle class in the country is shrinking, and 13% of citizens live below the poverty line, ”Konstantin Blokhin explained.

Meanwhile, according to him, the problem of exceeding police powers also exists, and for a very long time.

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“It is unlikely that the current authorities will be able to eradicate it. There have already been similar campaigns in the USA, but in the end everything was back to square one. Now the authorities just want to temporarily stabilize the situation. But the protests will continue for some time until they themselves come to naught, ”the expert is sure.

A similar point of view is shared by Andrei Sidorov.

“The problem is deep-seated; it cannot be solved by decrees or bills. Nowhere in the statutes of the police and now it is not written that you can kill during detention. Accordingly, the new rules are unlikely to affect the situation. Everyone understands this, so the initiatives of the Democrats and Trump are unlikely to stop the protests, ”the expert summed up.