US President Donald Trump said he was counting on the Republican Party's support in the fight against the Democratic Police Reform Bill.

“This week, Democrats in the House of Representatives want to approve a bill that will destroy our police. I hope that the Republicans in Congress will strongly oppose its adoption. We must value and protect our police, it ensures our safety! ” - wrote the head of the White House on his Twitter.

The Democrat House wants to pass a Bill this week that will destroy our police. Republican Congressmen & Congresswomen will hopefully fight hard to defeat it. We must protect and cherish our police, they keep us safe!

- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2020

Loss of confidence

On June 18, the House Judicial Committee approved a police reform bill.

The document was submitted by the Democrats on June 8. Before he was introduced to Parliament, about two dozen Democratic members, including Lower House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, stood on one knee in memory of African-American George Floyd, who died May 25 from the actions of law enforcement officials in Minneapolis.

The Democrats Bill provides for the creation of a federal registry of police misconduct. This responsibility is assigned to the public prosecutor of the country with the participation of the Ministry of Justice. Access to this information base should be open to all citizens.

  • A policeman calls for calm protesters against the arrival of trump in Tulsa (Oklahoma)
  • Reuters
  • © Goran Tomasevic

Given the circumstances of Floyd’s death, the Democrats intend to forbid law enforcement officers to use techniques that interfere with breathing and disrupt the flow of blood to the brain when detained. In addition, police officers are required to use physical force only when other methods of exposure have been exhausted.

“A federal law enforcement officer has no 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 document.

Democrats also included provisions in the bill according to which it would be easier for policemen to be held accountable in case of human rights violations on their part.

At the same time, Republicans have a different view of law enforcement reform. On June 17, they presented to the Senate controlled by them a version of their own bill called Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (Justice Act). The document is translated into Russian as “Fair and unifying solutions for strengthening communities everywhere.”

The initiator of the amendments was Tim Scott parliamentarian Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the upper house of Congress.

Some of the Republican proposals coincide with the provisions set forth in the Democrats bill. For example, Scott calls for limiting the use of asphyxiation and creating a database where police offenses will be recorded.

However, Republicans emphasize the need to improve the system for selecting candidates for service in law enforcement agencies and oblige law enforcement officers to wear wearable cameras. The implementation of all these measures, according to Scott, will reduce the sad statistics of murders of black people. According to the senator, for African Americans the probability of dying at the hands of the police is 2.5 times higher than for the white population.

On June 16, Donald Trump presented his vision of police reform. He signed a decree that also provides for the appearance of a registry of law violations by law enforcement officers.

In addition, the document tightens the granting process for US police. From Trump's point of view, budgetary funds should be received only by law enforcement agencies that meet high standards of professionalism, including in terms of the adequate use of force. As follows from the information on the White House website, verification of the quality of police work will be entrusted to "authoritative independent bodies."

Difference of approaches

According to experts, despite a certain similarity of the measures proposed by the Democrats and the Republicans to reform the police, both political camps proceed from essentially opposite approaches.

Democrats insist that US law enforcement does not cope with their tasks. In turn, the Republicans and the White House proceed from the assumption that, in general, the American police work efficiently.

For example, the Trump administration notes that for two consecutive years in the country, the number of murders and violent crimes has been reduced. The White House website also emphasizes that the vast majority of law enforcement officials faithfully fulfill their duties.

  • Donald Trump signs decree on police reform surrounded by law enforcement officials
  • © SAUL LOEB / AFP

“Trump and the Republicans in their policies rely on the power block, of which the police are an integral part. And from the point of view of the Democratic Party, US law enforcement officers should lose their legal immunity and the presumption of trust, that is, the special status that they now have. This is a fundamental difference in approaches, ”explained Nikita Danyuk, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University, in an interview with RT.

Leading researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences of the RANEPA, a member of the Russian Political Science Association Sergey Bespalov believes that Democrats and Republicans are unlikely to come to a compromise on the issue of police reform.

“The US law enforcement system is decentralized. The main scope of authority, including financing, is determined by state authorities. Republicans support this state of affairs, while Democrats, on the contrary, are in favor of tightening control by the federal government and reducing federal grant funding, ”says Bespalov.

According to Bespalov, in the current dispute over the fate of the police, the vast majority of Republicans will side with the president. Thus, the Democrats will have little chance of approving their bill in the Senate. If some of the Republicans “flinch” and the document passes through the upper house, Trump will use the veto, the analyst is sure.

“State symbols are offended”

Experts believe that disagreements between Democrats and Republicans at such a moment can lead to aggravation of already serious problems.

“The consequences of the socio-political disasters that are now observed in the United States will be very serious. Problems are being created that are unlikely to be resolved for at least several years. We see how the symbols of the state are offended and how the democrats in the fight against Trump condone the destabilization of the internal situation. The discussion about the police is one of the aspects of all these negative events, ”said Sergey Bespalov.

A similar view of the situation in the United States and Nikita Danyuk. The expert noted that the unrest and conflict that swept the United States only deepen the split in American society and the elite.

“A key reason for the difficulties the States are facing is the continuing gap between ethnic and social groups. Moreover, the initiatives of the Democrats undermine the foundations of American society, and Trump is limited to "cosmetic" proposals. Apparently, nobody is going to solve the problem of police and social inequality objectively, ”Danyuk summed up.