Washington, D.C.—As the world knows by now, one of the officers who arrested George Floyd kneeled on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds—killing him and any chance he had of proving his innocence. Not only did this one incident of police misconduct cost Floyd his life—an inhumane and incalculable cost—it will likely cost taxpayers where he lived millions of dollars. Yet cities and counties are not required to report information about these costs to the federal government. New legislation would change this.
Today, Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), the incoming Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), former Mayor of Richmond, Va. and civil rights attorney, introduced the Cost of Police Misconduct Act—legislation that would require federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to report police misconduct allegations and related judgments or settlements (including court fees) to the Department of Justice. The legislation would increase transparency and accountability, saving taxpayer dollars and potentially lives.
Beyer and Kaine will work to include the bill in the George Floyd Justice
in Policing Act, which was introduced in the House of Representatives last week.
Congressman Beyer:
“Most Americans have no idea how much the cities and counties they live in spend on police misconduct because law
enforcement agencies often settle these cases in secret—quietly burying criticism and controversy. You cannot manage what you do not measure. The purpose of this legislation is to measure the problem as much as possible, so we can manage it in a way
that not only saves lives—the most important goal—but also taxpayer dollars, which would be better spent on programs and policies that are proven to prevent crime.
“But for police misconduct, George Floyd and many others, most of whom are Black and Brown, would still be alive today. My hope is that we can include The Cost of Police Misconduct Act in the police reform bill that Congress has introduced in George Floyd’s honor, so Americans can better understand what police misconduct costs all of us, both in terms of human life—the most important cost—and taxpayer dollars.”
Senator Kaine:
“Police misconduct causes real harm to real people and the erosion of trust in our justice system
and the many good people who work in it. And the financial costs of misconduct are often shrouded in secrecy, thereby making full accountability impossible. The Cost of Police Misconduct Act will require transparency, giving the public powerful information
that will spur reform.”
Every year cities and counties across the country spend
hundreds of millions of dollars on judgments and settlements related to police misconduct—the costliest of which in many cases are civil rights violations (e.g. use of force) that result in the physical injury or death of
residents. Cities and counties typically pay for such judgments and settlements through liability insurance (typical of smaller cities), or from a general or dedicated municipal fund (typical of larger cities), or by issuing bonds. Bonds are particularly common
for large judgments or settlements, which exceed insurer liabilities or the capacity of general or dedicated municipal funds, and often result in taxpayers paying nearly double the cost of the judgment or settlement because the city or county must pay fees
to financial institutions and interest to investors.
One recent study found
that from 2008-2017, residents of Chicago, Ill.(2010-2017), Cleveland, Ohio, Lake County, Ind., Los Angles, Calif. and Milwaukee, Wis., paid an estimated combined total of $1.73 billion in bonds ($837.8 million) and interest payments ($891 million) related
to police misconduct. According to a recent NPR report, residents of Chicago
alone have paid about a half billion dollars for police misconduct over the past decade. The Cost of Police Misconduct Act would create a source of comprehensive data on the size and nature of such payments to help policymakers, stakeholders and the public
understand the scope of the problem and the need for reform.
Mr. Hilary O Shelton, the Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau and the Senior Vice President for Policy and Advocacy:
“For too long, law enforcement
agencies have paid out millions upon millions of dollars in taxpayer monies to compensate for misconduct charges against mistreated Americans. This payout comes without having to officially alert the taxpayers of our Nation of the damages, liabilities, harm
or in some cases even unintentional, unreasonable and reckless use of force. In too many cases these deeply disturbing actions even result in permanent disability or even death. By requiring police officers and units to report to the public the amount of money
that is being spent defending and settling misconduct and liability charges, we will be incentivizing law enforcement agents to better serve and protect the American public in a manner befitting their uniform, as well as providing the people of our nation
with a more transparent understanding of how their tax money is being misspent.”
Katherine Hawkins, Senior Legal Analyst with The Constitution Project at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO):
“Though
the negative impact of police misconduct and racial injustice has been evident for a long time, recent tragedies like those involving George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have poignantly highlighted how much work we still have to do. Among a wide range of other
reforms, it is critical that Congress enact policies that would result in a higher quantity and quality of data around how often instances of police misconduct occur and what the true costs are of that misconduct. It will be exceedingly difficult for us to
ever make evidence-based decisions around policing reform without good data. It is important to remember that police misconduct, beyond the loss of life and of trust, can result in costly legal settlements that effectively defund other vital government services
at a time when municipal budgets are under huge strain."
In general, the
Cost of Police Misconduct Act would require:
PERUVIAN CULTURE IN DANCE .
Mayor Muriel Bowser holds town hall at the Marin Lurther king library down town Washington DC on the 7th of may 2015 , discussing with participants the problems and challenges that confront them , from safety while going to school , to in ability to pay for metro rides to school and back .
Young people had answers to the question of participating in the building of their communities .
She asked them to volunteer in their community centers , churches and other public places of service .
In relationship to police , she said "body cameras will be worn by DC police officers" . She told them , she is asking the council to vote in to law , the rights of DC children to ride the subway to school and back free.
"Repositioning the common wealth for post 2015 development agenda " is the theme of the 60th common wealth parliamentary conference taking place in Yaoundé Cameroon from the 2nd to 10th of October 20014 . The association connects , develops, promotes and supports parliamentarians and governance and implimentation of enduring values of the common wealth . Parliamentarians have as main functions the following , debating and passing all laws [legislation], examing and challenging the work of government and enabling the country to raise taxes . Some speakers belief parliament should be responsive to the needs of the people while others have said social and human development should be made relevant post mdg2015. Are Cameroonian parliamentarians benefitting from all of these conferences ? Does the constant overwhelming majority of one party in parliament an enabling factor to the lofty goals of the CPA?. Are the parliamentarians free to scrutinize government in Cameroon and African parliaments ? Is the legislative branch independent of the executive ? When laws are passed and degrees of implementation are to be signed by the head of the executive branch[president ], who then really makes the law ? When a speaker from one party can be head for almost twenty five years , how do you make a parliament responsive to the needs of the people ? The eight millennium development goals have three health related components which are , maternal/reproductive health, child health and HIV/AIDS , TB and ,Malaria . Most African countries have fared poorly in all of the goals. DR THOMPSON AKWO NTUBA