[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 24 (Monday, February 6, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H699-H705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DEATH OF TYRE NICHOLS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. D'Esposito). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 9, 2023, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Ivey) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority 
leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any 
extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor I rise today to 
coanchor this CBC Special Order hour with Chairman Horsford, the 
chairman of the CBC, and Ms. Kamlager-Dove of California.
  For the next 60 minutes, we have a chance to speak directly to the 
American people on issues of great importance to the Congressional 
Black Caucus, Congress, the constituents we represent, and all 
Americans.
  Today, we will be speaking on the death of Tyre Nichols.

                              {time}  1915

  Mr. Speaker, I rise today--after the horrifying murder of yet another 
young, Black man at the hands of police--outraged because nothing has 
worked.
  ``They need more police training,'' we said.
  But so-called elite squads like SCORPION already require extra 
training over and above the basics.
  ``They need more diversity,'' we said.
  But every single one of the five officers we saw mercilessly beat an 
unarmed and compliant Tyre Nichols was Black, just like him.
  ``They need more accountability,'' we said.
  But even the advent of body cameras hasn't stopped officers from 
pummeling our sons--and sometimes our daughters--to death over mere 
traffic infractions.
  Just throw in a few shouts of: ``Stop resisting'' to try and fool our 
eyes from believing what we are clearly seeing.
  We tried all those things--more training, more diversity, and more 
accountability--and yet Tyre Nichols is dead. He was dragged out of his 
car and attacked by a swarm of men twice his size, exhausting 
themselves and then coming back to beat him again.
  Reforming these so-called elite squads is not enough. It is time to 
end them altogether.
  These units often attract and recruit young, aggressive officers 
drawn to the prospect of less supervision. They slap an intimidating 
name on the team, like SCORPION or STRESS or CRASH--which in the 
nineties stood for Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums--because 
these units aren't about forging bonds with the communities they serve. 
They are about instilling fear.
  They descend on low-income, usually minority neighborhoods looking to 
make pretextual stops in search of drugs or guns. That is not a secret. 
It is a tactic sanctioned by the Supreme Court itself. An officer can 
stop anyone for whatever reason he wants. He doesn't even need to know 
which law he suspects you of breaking, Mr. Speaker, so long as he can 
develop a reason after the fact--reasons that are often minor, trivial, 
and unrelated. Things like a busted taillight or partially obscured 
traffic tag are sufficient for these stops.
  This is formal policy in police departments across the country. For 
example, the New York City Police Department admittedly trained its 
officers to ``stop and question first, develop reasonable suspicion 
later.''
  What results is a constant state of alert. Black and Brown males 
worry about being pulled over for a minor traffic stop that can spiral 
out of control. Police officers worry because they are understandably 
taught that there is nothing more dangerous than to walk up to a 
stranger's driver-side window at night. Both sides of the confrontation 
are on edge.
  And for what?
  So that an officer can peek inside the car for contraband and ask for 
so-called consent to search the car, despite many drivers feeling like 
they can't say no.
  These pretextual traffic stops aren't bearing much fruit. A study 
found that stop-and-frisk searches in New York City produced drugs or 
guns in less than 2 percent of the cases. What it does is breed 
contempt between the police and the people they are sworn to protect. 
African Americans are five times more likely to have their vehicles 
searched, and a Black man has to hit the age of 50 before his chance of 
being pulled over lowers to that of a young White man.
  As the father of five Black sons, I am all too familiar with the talk 
parents are duty bound to give their Black and Brown children about how 
to deescalate interactions with the police.
  As a former prosecutor, I saw firsthand how communities can be 
ravaged by fear in the face of violent crime and threats to public 
safety. Those communities should not also be afraid of the men and 
women in uniform whose job it is to defend them. Police can't 
investigate crime if victims and witnesses don't trust them enough to 
come forward. These squads running roughshod on our streets are 
contributing to a breakdown in that trust. It isn't leading to better 
results, but it is contributing to the unjustified killing of our kids.
  Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis did the right thing by shutting 
down the SCORPION unit. But we must not wait until the next murder of 
an innocent man gets national attention before we shut down these 
roving elite squads across the country.
  Professor Christy E. Lopez, the co-chair of the D.C. Police Reform 
Commission, made the case brilliantly in a recent Washington Post 
editorial titled: ``Cities should get rid of their toxic crime-
suppression units.''
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record this article by Christy E. 
Lopez.

               [From the Washington Post, Jan. 31, 2023]

      Cities Should get rid of Their Toxic Crime-Suppression Units

                         (By Christy E. Lopez)

       Last week, after five Memphis police officers were charged 
     with murdering their son, Tyre Nichols's family called for 
     the dissolution of Scorpion, the specialized policing unit to 
     which those officers were assigned. On Saturday, Memphis made 
     the right decision and announced it would shut the unit down.
       Now, other cities should follow Memphis's lead and disband 
     their own analogous--and outdated--units.
       In my decades investigating law enforcement agencies, and 
     studying what makes them prone to causing unnecessary harm, I 
     have consistently found that units such as Scorpion are a key 
     factor. And they are not unusual. Most mid-size to large 
     cities have a unit--or several--akin to Scorpion, focused on 
     areas considered to be crime ``hot spots'' or on a particular 
     task such as seizing drugs or guns.
       These teams have various names orbiting around buzzwords 
     like ``crime suppression'' or ``violence reduction.'' In the 
     communities they police, they're often just called ``jump 
     outs.'' Regardless of the name, they are all under official 
     direction--pressure, even--to aggressively police areas 
     deemed high-crime, nearly always majority Black or Latino, 
     often using traffic and pedestrian stops as an excuse to 
     search people and their belongings in the hopes of finding 
     guns or other contraband.
       It's possible that Scorpion was a particularly bad specimen 
     of this family of aggressive policing units: As one police 
     chief noted, the name ``speaks volumes about the mission of 
     the unit and the mentality of the officers.'' That 
     ``Scorpion'' was an acronym for ``Street Crimes Operation to 
     Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods'' is a mockery of genuine 
     concern for community well-being.
       But this tolerance for inflicting community pain in the 
     name of community protection is a thread that runs through 
     these teams going back decades. In the 1990s, the

[[Page H700]]

     Los Angeles Police Department's ``special investigations 
     section'' was an ``elite'' unit known both for the 
     extraordinary number of people it killed in shootouts and for 
     its practice of allowing community members to be victimized 
     so it could make better arrests. During a Justice Department 
     investigation of the New Orleans Police Department in 2010, a 
     police official told investigators that the community viewed 
     street crime ``task forces'' as ``jump out boys, dirty cops, 
     the ones who are going to be brutal.'' These task forces 
     finally were ended in 2020 after the federal monitor showed 
     they operated with little supervision, made stops with 
     ``questionable legal basis,'' didn't document their work and 
     endangered citizens.
       An investigation of the Baltimore Police Department's 
     notoriously corrupt and violent Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF) 
     found that although created in 2007, its abusive tactics had 
     roots dating back to at least 1999. Yet the GTTF was not 
     disbanded until eight of its officers were indicted in 2017.
       In Washington, the D.C. Police Reform Commission (which I 
     co-chaired) recommended in 2021 that the Metropolitan Police 
     Department suspend its crime-suppression teams and gun 
     recovery unit until it could provide data showing its 
     effectiveness. The department has not done so, although late 
     last year, it suspended one crime-suppression team after 
     seven of its officers were put under investigation. A month 
     ago, a former officer from another team was convicted of 
     second-degree murder for a 2020 car chase that killed Karon 
     Hylton-Brown (another unit officer was found guilty of 
     obstructing justice).
       These units can't be fixed. Their problems go beyond issues 
     with selection, training or supervision. The premise on which 
     they are based ensures they will fail communities. Everything 
     we know teaches us that, to be effective, policing must 
     center community well-being and fair treatment. But these 
     units are focused on stats: arrests made, guns and drugs 
     recovered, even overtime hours worked. This incentivizes 
     policing that takes full advantage (and then some) of the 
     broad discretion under law--including pretext stops and 
     discretion to jail that is broader than a judge's--to detain 
     and search people based on little more than a hunch, a 
     profile or where they live. It's an approach that has been 
     shown time and again to be inefficient, alienating and 
     confrontation-provoking, even as its impact on crime is 
     uncertain.
       I have talked with many police officers who are ambivalent 
     about--or even resentful of--these units, which generally do 
     not respond to calls for service. This leaves regular patrol 
     officers to pick up the slack--and often, the pieces of 
     community relationship broken by interactions with the 
     specialized units. These patrol officers live the mixed 
     messages given by police and city leadership: They are 
     sternly admonished to build trust and take action only where 
     public safety requires, even as they see leadership 
     encouraging (and promoting) members of crime-suppression 
     teams. They watch as the relationships they built with 
     community members go unnoticed and the latest gun and drug 
     bust earns a commendation. Heavily policed communities will 
     tell you exactly how this contradiction plays out: ``The 
     police are everywhere,'' I often have been told, ``until you 
     need them.''
       Suppression units also become petri dishes for cultures of 
     impunity. As long as they ``produce,'' making arrests and 
     bringing in contraband, chiefs can ward off unrealistic 
     expectations that policing solve social problems. But 
     facilitating this kind of ``production'' has always, in my 
     experience, gone hand-in-hand with indulging lax adherence to 
     law and policy, discounting or glossing over misconduct 
     complaints and generous overtime approval.
       These units reflect and reinforce the worst aspects of 
     warrior policing. The cost-benefit analysis makes no sense 
     once you recognize that we have underestimated their harms, 
     and the benefits they offer could be better achieved through 
     services that respond more directly to community needs and 
     work to reduce the root causes of crime.
       Disbanding Scorpion was likely a little too little, and 
     certainly a little too late. Other communities should not 
     wait for an act of searing violence before rethinking this 
     approach. It's time to recognize the harm these units cause--
     and put an end to them and the approach to policing they 
     embody.

  Mr. IVEY. Finally, I think the time has come to end pretextual stops 
completely because they are just racial profiling hiding behind 
legalese and little more than a subtle way to circumvent the 
constitutional rights of Black and Brown males.
  Pretext stops allow police to stop cars even though they lack even 
reasonable suspicion to think that an actual crime is, has been, or is 
about to be committed.
  They allow police to pressure drivers into a so-called consensual 
search so that they can avoid the need to obtain a warrant to search 
the car. As we have seen yet again, these pretextual stops frequently 
escalate into young men being killed or seriously injured not because 
they broke the law but because they have been targeted for aggressive 
police tactics that aren't directed at other communities.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I urge President Biden to use his executive 
authority to put an end to this practice at the Federal level, and I 
urge State and local officials--mayors, police chiefs, and county 
executives--to put an end to this practice all over the country.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Kamlager-Dove).
  Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise 
today to coanchor this CBC Special Order hour. It is the first of the 
118th Congress and my first in this body.
  We have a problem, America, a big problem. The problem is the rampant 
disregard for Black life at the hands of law enforcement.
  For too many years now we have seen snuff videos--death at the hands 
of police--of our Black men and women and our Black boys and girls. 
These videos become dissected, the victim in death is persecuted as a 
way to justify excessive force, and it goes on and on and on.
  The more this happens, the more desensitized we become, and as a 
culture, we enter into a culture of deflection: deflecting 
accountability, deflecting truth, and deflecting uncomfortable 
conversations about the value of Black life.
  Why are we always looking for the perfect victim in these 
circumstances?
  If they were perfect--if any of us were--they wouldn't be victims. 
They also probably wouldn't be victims if they weren't Black.
  We certainly spend a lot of time victim blaming, deflecting, and not 
talking about the kind of public safety all of us should have and how 
we reimagine it in a way that makes it safe for everyone.
  It is sad to say but police shootings in Black communities have 
become as American as baseball. In baseball, Mr. Speaker, you have 
something called balk. Pitchers commit balks, and the lower the balk 
number, the better your success.
  In law enforcement we also have something called BALKS, although it 
means something different. B, background; A, age; L, lethal force; K, 
knowledge, S, seriousness of a crime. Once again, the lower the number 
of deaths, the higher the use of BALKS, something American, something 
we should be discussing.
  How can we incorporate BALKS more deeply into our public safety 
system so that all lives can be saved?
  What we are seeing with these shootings is un-American. I would also 
argue that it is unconstitutional because shootings like this are 
equivalent to summary executions. Law enforcement has become judge, 
jury, and executioner. Meanwhile, the 14th Amendment declares that we 
all have a right to due process. But these shootings have stolen due 
process from so many men and women in our Black communities.
  These videos, once again, that we see, the images as horrific as they 
are, have become symbols of today and what Black America has to 
experience. The symbols of today become the reality of tomorrow, and 
the recordings of these shootings are important because they keep us 
honest. But they also become symbols of police brutality and police 
violence. We have gotten used to these symbols, and that is a problem.
  This is Black History Month, but, Mr. Speaker, you would be flawed in 
thinking that the issue of police shootings and police violence is a 
Black issue, or that it is not an issue because it is not happening in 
your community. It is an American issue, and it must be addressed.
  I think we should be talking more deeply about the George Floyd 
Justice in Policing Act and how we reimagine law enforcement. When law 
enforcement officers are trained to understand and take all of these 
pieces into account, we see much better outcomes of police interaction.
  Once again, I would just like to share some of the symbols that are 
propelling us towards the values of tomorrow. George Floyd, Breonna 
Taylor, Philando Castile--we must carry their memories with us as we 
fight to address the epidemic of police violence.
  We have an obligation to the family of Tyre Nichols who was beaten to 
death in Memphis, to the family of Takar Smith who was shot seven times 
by the LAPD while on his knees, to the family of Oscar Leon Sanchez 
cornered and shot while suffering a mental

[[Page H701]]

health crisis, to the family of Anthony Lowe shot in the back multiple 
times by LAPD--I might add a double amputee and someone living in a 
wheelchair--and to the family of Keenan Anderson tased to death during 
a routine traffic stop.

  I am honored that Dominique Hamilton, Keenan's fiancee, will join me 
tomorrow for the 2023 State of the Union Address. As one of the far too 
many people impacted by police brutality in 2023 alone, her bravery 
shines through.
  I hope that we can all take inspiration from her and all of the 
families of those killed at the hands of police this year. We must do 
more to hold our law enforcement officers accountable and stop this 
epidemic of State-sanctioned murder.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the distinguished 
gentleman from the great State of Maryland, Congressman Ivey, and the 
distinguished gentlewoman from the great State of California (Ms. 
Kamlager-Dove), for leading such an important Special Order. Let me 
also thank Chairman Horsford for immediately capturing the pain and 
sentiment of the American people.
  When I say that, I am speaking of all the American people, Mr. 
Speaker, because I believe more than any part of our constitutional 
rights, the right to be free and safe in this Nation is one that 
Americans crave. For no matter whether they are in the beauty of Utah, 
in the richness of Mississippi, in the smart and urban life of New 
York, or in the beauty of the West Coast, Republican or Democrat, 
Independent and any other affiliation, we are concerned about safety.
  The reason is because safety involves the coming and going of our 
family members and our children. For any of us who have ever been 
parents, we have always had a little trepidation when that little one 
leaves home for the first time to go to pre-K or kindergarten that they 
would be safe.
  We are appalled at the unsafe conditions that we face in our schools 
today: Uvalde, Sandy Hook, Santa Fe, and beyond. We know that violence 
permeated those safe spaces.
  At the same time I think, as I thank the Congressional Black Caucus 
for its recognition, that as it speaks here on the floor today it is 
embracing an American issue: public safety.
  I will be looking for Republicans who are going to admit that even as 
we want those who protect and serve to go home to their families, we 
cannot deny American mothers and fathers the right to expect their 
young people to come home.
  We can walk, if I might say, and chew gum at the same time. We can 
uplift the urgency of the importance of law enforcement at all levels: 
first responders, EMTs, and firefighters, as I do, as a member of the 
Fire Services Caucus, former chair of the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland 
Security Subcommittee and now ranking member. We have worked in the 
House Judiciary Committee and worked with the Congressional Black 
Caucus on major legislation that deals with answering all of these 
concerns.

                              {time}  1930

  Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss to think that there are not 
Republicans who will not join us in this whole idea of crafting a 21st 
century approach to police-community relations.
  There is no one that could in any way accept the murder of a man on 
the streets in video, as was my constituent's brother. Philonise Floyd 
is here, and he will join me at the State of the Union. His brother, 
George Floyd, big George, who grew up in Cuney Homes, was everybody's 
friend. Their mother and their family was everybody's family. They 
opened their doors to children who may not have a good hot meal, and 
they gave it to them.
  However, like every American who leaves their hometown and looks for 
a greener space, as what he looked for in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he 
found a deadly end. No one could accept that. The reason, Mr. Speaker, 
that I know that is because the people who took to the streets 
nonviolently and walked shoulder to shoulder with us were from all 
walks of life.
  Out of that was crafted a combination of Republican-supported ideas, 
things that were embraced in the Trump executive order, now embraced in 
the Biden executive order dealing with a reconstruct of police-
community relationships, which would include the idea of making sure 
that random stops that caught Tyre Nichols in the throngs of violence, 
that lasted for an hour on videotape; or the tragedy of Breonna Taylor; 
or the tragedy of Eric Garner; or the tragedy in the early stages under 
color of law, Trayvon Martin, by someone who was supposed to be a civil 
patrol, and a young boy lost his life; or the young boy in Cleveland, 
Ohio, who lost his life at age 12 or 13 years old; or the cafeteria 
worker who lost his life; or Pam Turner, who lost her life; or Sandra 
Bland, who lost her life.
  We can construct under the Constitution a reasonable response to 
traffic stops included in the early premise of legislation. We can deal 
with the right way to, in essence, address a human being, and 
chokeholds when you are not in danger basically are without place. No 
knocks that come to, in essence, a wrong person's home or someone 
entering the wrong home. All of that is reasonable to deal with in a 
new construct of which we hope the President of the United States will 
join us in a bipartisan, bicameral effort.
  That would include training and accountability as well. It would 
include dealing with mental health concerns or violence intervention as 
well as the necessity of wearing body cams, which were the element of 
truth and have been.
  I was very proud in the small cities that I represent, Mr. Speaker, 
to be able to provide grant money for our cities to get body cams, 
small cities that don't have it. Just think if we passed legislation 
that allows all departments to seek body cams for truth for all that 
are involved.
  I rise today to capture the essence of the importance of this 
Congressional Black Caucus Special Order because it is laying the 
footprints for the day tomorrow, as the President speaks to the Nation 
on many issues.
  There is no doubt, as someone who went to the funeral of Tyre Nichols 
as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, to be able to say that 
we can do this together.
  Public safety is an American issue. It is an American families' 
issue. It is the issue of those who are entrusted to protect and serve. 
It is the issue of local government, State government. It is the issue 
of moms and dads. It is the issue of teenagers and young families and 
senior citizens. It does not leave one person untouched.
  I believe that the work that was done in the last years with 
legislation that carried the name of George Floyd has the ability to 
embrace a wide perspective of diversity and new changes and inspiration 
and, of course, working as one would with all persons concerned and 
even respecting the other body.
  The Congressional Black Caucus has taken up the light, and I am 
grateful for that leadership. I look forward that we continue to work 
because we are not a nation of laws and values if we do not adhere as a 
nation to the belief that every person deserves the dignity of their 
humanity and does not deserve, under the Constitution, to be denied 
their equal protection of the law, their due process in the workings 
between law and community.
  I thank my very important coleaders of this Special Order. I wish 
them well. I know that they will be a dynamic team. I had the privilege 
of doing this in the last session. I can tell you, you will have a 
moment of joy every time you rise on this floor and are joined by the 
esteemed members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Each and every one 
of them have their own special story. We do make a difference. We can 
change lives, and we can change laws.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman for her 
powerful and extemporaneous comments. I think it is a representation of 
the powerful leadership she has provided over the years and will 
continue to provide in the future.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford), my 
colleague, the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
  Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to join my colleagues of 
the Congressional Black Caucus on the floor tonight for what is the 
first Special Order hour of the 118th Congress.

[[Page H702]]

  I first acknowledge our chairs for Special Orders this evening, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey) and the gentlewoman from California 
(Ms. Kamlager-Dove).
  This hour provides all of us as members an important opportunity to 
come to the floor to discuss issues vital to Black Americans. We will 
use that time to do just that tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, during the State of the Union, it is my hope 
that President Biden will be able to put a personal touch on the story 
of Tyre Nichols.
  The brutal beating of Tyre Nichols resulted in his death, and it is a 
reminder that we have a long way to go in solving systemic police 
violence in America. We and his parents want America to know who Tyre 
was. Tyre was a son. He was a father. He loved skateboarding and 
sunsets. He enjoyed photography. He had a purpose and a passion and a 
lifelong opportunity ahead of him, but that was taken.

  Now, no one in our Nation should fear interacting with the police in 
any of our communities. Sadly, many Black and Brown people do every 
single day.
  I want to be absolutely clear: We all want to be safe, and we want 
our communities to be safe. We don't want to end policing. We want to 
stop bad policing. All of us should agree that bad policing has no 
place in any community in America. That is why we need to address the 
public health epidemic of public safety that disproportionately affects 
our communities.
  I want to commend our colleague, Senator Tim Scott, Republican from 
South Carolina, who issued this statement: ``We have been here too many 
times before, and we cannot continue down this path. This man was 
beaten by the power of the state,'' by men entrusted with protecting 
his safety. ``We must unite against this blatant disregard for human 
life, especially from those we trust with immense power and 
responsibility'' for our communities.
  Mr. Speaker, Democrats and some Republicans agree, this is an 
important issue that must be addressed. Something must change to 
prevent further unnecessary deaths.
  In the coming weeks, my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus 
and I are engaging with leaders in our community and right here in the 
U.S. Capitol. We are working with the President, the Vice President, 
the Senate, and our House colleagues on the issue of public safety, 
policing, and justice, which is what we need action on now.
  For every mom, dad, son, and daughter, it is imperative that we 
tackle this issue with legislative solutions, executive actions, and 
community-based results. That is how we put an end to the pattern of 
Black lives being taken at the hands of law enforcement, whether it is 
during a traffic stop, walking in a park, or sleeping in their home.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who are here on the floor with us 
tonight, and I thank Representatives Ivey and Kamlager-Dove for leading 
on this effort of the Special Order tonight and for the work that we 
will continue to do in the days, weeks, and months to come.
  Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I thank our chair for his commitment 
and strength on this issue.
  I yield to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).
  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Nevada (Mr. Horsford), the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, 
and of course our esteemed colleagues who are leading this Special 
Order, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove) and the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey). This is extremely important work in 
terms of communicating to our constituents.
  Mr. Speaker, I am standing here on this February evening feeling like 
this is not just Black History Month, but this is like Groundhog Day. 
The death of Tyre Nichols is yet another preventable death, a homicide 
committed by those who are hired to protect us, those who are hired to 
protect and serve as a mission.
  This is not an issue that can be resolved through just hiring more 
diverse officers or merely providing more training. It really requires 
us to take a deep dive and look at the role that law enforcement plays 
in our communities, the relationship that law enforcement has with our 
communities, and get a better understanding of what those needs are and 
how those needs are not being met.
  That is why the Congressional Black Caucus in both the House and the 
Senate have introduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, 
because we recognize the familiar fact patterns. Although Tyre Nichols 
is one of the most recent incidents, it is the same fact pattern. 
Pretextual stuff.
  We have no idea at this point why Tyre Nichols was stopped. That 
there is bias in these stops, bias against a man of color, excessive 
force, failure to exercise deescalation strategies, and of course 
qualified immunity, really creating no incentive for police officers to 
exercise good judgment and to use legal police tactics.
  This problem, there are a lot of famous people who have been 
subjected to this police brutality. We have heard some of those names 
tonight, but I just want to talk about my district. I want to talk 
about my community in Wisconsin. We have seen this devastation 
firsthand.
  Since 2013, 149 people in Wisconsin have been killed by violence, 
with nearly all of them being shot by police officers. It is a systemic 
issue when it comes to police departments. People who face mental 
health crises, traffic violations, or nonviolent offense should not be 
given the death penalty.

                              {time}  1945

  People who face mental health crises, traffic violations, or 
nonviolent offenses should not be given the death penalty, those like 
Joel Acevedo, who was murdered by an officer; 17-year-old Alvin Cole, 
who was shot by police after leaving the mall; 18-year-old Ty'Rese 
West, who was killed after police stopped him for not having a light on 
his bicycle; 19-year-old Terry Williams, who was shot eight times after 
a traffic stop; 22-year-old Adam Trammell, who was killed in his home 
by police who tasered him 18 times--18 times--while he was in the 
shower; and 23-year-old Sylville Smith, who was shot by police even 
after the police saw him throw his weapon away.
  How about 25-year-old Jay Anderson, Jr., who was sitting in a parked 
car and was shot five times in the head?
  Dontre Hamilton is a person that I actually don't understand why he 
is dead. He would have turned 40 years old on January 20. Nine years 
ago, Dontre Hamilton was shot 14 times. What was his crime? He was 
asleep on a public Milwaukee County park bench, unarmed. One group of 
cops came by, did a wellness check, saw that he was fine. Another cop 
came by, beat him with his baton, and when Dontre disarmed him, when 
140-pound Dontre Hamilton disarmed the cop, he was shot 14 times. That 
police officer retired with his pension and his disability benefits for 
having PTSD for killing Dontre Hamilton.
  Guess what? Beyond those who are killed by the police, we have others 
who have survived their violent encounters with those entrusted with 
public safety, but they are, nonetheless, scarred--like Jacob Blake in 
Kenosha or my guest tomorrow for the State of the Union Address, NBA 
basketball player Sterling Brown.
  Sterling Brown was an arrogant Black man, I guess, who parked in a 
handicapped spot about 2 o'clock in the morning to go into Walgreens to 
get some medication. When he came back out, the police saw his fancy 
car there--very consistent with his status as a high-paid individual--
and asked him why he was parked at 2 a.m. in an empty parking lot in a 
handicapped spot. What did Sterling Brown say? Officer, just give me a 
ticket.
  That led to him being tased and guns drawn on him. The Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, taxpayers had to pay for the insult of this driving while 
Black in a fancy car, this uppity Negro. There was no deescalation of 
police.
  This is why the Congressional Black Caucus will consistently come to 
this well, Mr. Speaker, and insist that we look at elements of the 
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
  I will tell you, being Black is not a crime, and therefore, it should 
not be a death sentence.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for that powerful 
statement.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson), my 
colleague, the Representative from the Fourth District of Georgia.

[[Page H703]]

  

  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding, and I thank him for hosting this Special Order hour on behalf 
of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus under the leadership 
of Chairman  Steve Horsford.
  Tonight, we are here to talk about a plague on America. It has to do 
with police violence toward Black people in this country. I am not 
talking about just White police officers but Black officers, also.
  We saw it with Tyre Nichols, where a group of five so-called elite 
crime suppression unit officers, who travel in unmarked cars and in 
plainclothes, were out looking for crime. They jump out on folks. They 
jumped out on Tyre Nichols.
  Tyre Nichols was on his way over to his mother's house for dinner, 
but he never made it. You all saw it on TV, where he was pulled over. 
The police were going at 100 miles an hour on him: Get out of the car. 
Get out of the car.
  They had guns drawn: Get on your stomach.
  He complied.
  Because of the culture of policing with these crime suppression units 
and other units of police agencies across the country, he was 
frightened--I was frightened--and he ran.
  He almost made it to his mother's house, but they caught up with him, 
and the rest you saw with your own eyes. You can believe your lying 
eyes about what you saw: a horrific beating.
  You also could hear what was happening in the background as the 
officers were talking to each other, planning on how they were going to 
adjust their reports to all be consistent about this guy being on 
drugs: He must have been on this, that, and the other. He wouldn't 
comply. He wouldn't put his hands behind him.
  Just talking to each other throughout the whole thing.
  This is a part of a culture, and it is something that has to be 
rooted out. It is happening all over the country.
  In my neck of the woods, in DeKalb County, in March 2015, Air Force 
veteran Anthony Hill was fatally shot.
  Anthony had been to Afghanistan. His mother didn't want him to go, 
but he went to serve his country. When he came back, he was different. 
He suffered from mental illness, bipolar.
  In March 2015, shortly after the situation with Michael Brown in 
Ferguson, Anthony Hill is out in his apartment complex running around 
naked as a jaybird, swinging from canopies, knocking on doors. The 
neighbors knew him. They called the police. They called 911. They 
wanted some help to come for him. Instead, a police officer showed up.
  When Anthony Hill did not stop coming toward the officer, he didn't 
tase him. He didn't hit him with his nightstick. The officer pulled out 
his 9-millimeter and shot Anthony twice and killed him.
  Anthony was his mother's only son, her youngest child. He killed him. 
He was naked as a jaybird. Then, he said in his report that the guy 
came at him and hit him, and that is why he fired.
  The jury found otherwise. The officer was indicted for murder, but 
the jury didn't convict him for murder. They convicted him for 
aggravated assault and for lying, filing a false statement about what 
happened.

  It took the jury 6 days to get to the point where they could convict 
him of anything. He was looking at 30 years at that point, but the 
judge had mercy on him and gave him 20 to do 12 for taking a man's 
life.
  That is how it goes throughout America. Everybody has sympathy. I 
have abundant sympathy. I love my men and women in blue, but the 
culture in policing has to change.
  We saw why it needs to change with Tyre Nichols. My colleagues are 
going to speak about other examples of why it needs to change. I have 
given you mine.
  I have taken enough of your time, but I will just leave you with 
this: We need to make police reform a priority. It is time to pass the 
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. We did it in the House two or 
three times last session. It went to the Senate, and it couldn't get 
across the finish line. We need the Senate to abandon the filibuster 
rule.
  Let's get some legislation passed. Let's get voting rights passed. 
Let's get police reform passed.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Maryland has 18 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Payne).
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Horsford for bringing forth 
this Special Order hour and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey) for 
hosting this Special Order hour.
  This Special Order hour focuses on the problem of police brutality, 
especially in Black and Brown communities. I welcome the opportunity to 
raise awareness for an issue that is so close to so many in my 
community.
  To the family of Tyre Nichols, I once again send my heartfelt 
condolences for your tragic loss in the wake of the release of that 
horrifying footage that the world watched of, yet again, another 
despicable display of police brutality in this country.
  Our cities and streets have been plagued for decades by this 
senseless and unnecessary use of force by sworn officers of the law. It 
has permeated facets of Black and Brown lives.
  In the last 10 years alone, my State of New Jersey has been home to 
109 excessive force lawsuits against officers and police departments 
since 2012. Because of that number, I could not give you the names that 
were involved in these situations--as I said, 109.
  The profession of policing should not be costing States and local 
taxpayers millions of dollars each year in settlements for wrongful 
acts caused by those entrusted to protect and serve.
  I voted for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which was 
legislation that would end racial profiling in law enforcement, ban 
choke holds and no-knock warrants, and establish a Federal standard for 
policing in and against African-American communities.
  The calling card for such a bill came after thousands of Americans 
took to the streets in the summer of 2020 to protest the brutal murders 
from policing violence of George Floyd and other African Americans.

                              {time}  2000

  For too long, many Americans were considered dangerous and violent 
simply because of the color of their skin.
  We have been witness for some time now that police officers have been 
allowed to violate the sanctity and privacy of African Americans while 
in their cars, homes, or even standing on the sidewalk.
  The time is now for us to create a nationwide standard for police 
conduct to stop police brutality against African Americans and other 
minorities.
  This is a day we have been waiting for in the Black community for a 
long time. I am hopeful that we can work together in a constructive 
manner with my colleagues across the aisle and get this done.
  I am honored to be a part of the Congressional Black Caucus that has 
been a conscience and a voice for the American people and the 
conscience of this body as it continues to talk about righteousness in 
this Nation.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those powerful 
comments.
  Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Maryland has 12 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina 
(Ms. Adams).
  Ms. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Horsford and the coanchors 
for this evening, the gentleman from Maryland and the gentlewoman from 
California.
  I do rise today to lend my testimony to the conversation about police 
reform, safe communities, and the value of Black lives.
  The brutal beating and the death of Tyre Nichols is a reminder that 
we do, indeed, have a long way to go to solve the structural racism and 
the systemic police violence in America.
  Tyre was a son. He was a father. I am a mother and a grandmother of 
sons and daughters. He had a passion for skateboarding and photography, 
a young person with purpose, potential, and his life was ahead of him.
  The Congressional Black Caucus has always been the conscience of the 
Congress, and that is why we are pushing

[[Page H704]]

for reforms to our justice system, specifically regarding the actions 
and the conduct of law enforcement because no one in this Nation should 
fear interacting with police officers in their communities, but many 
Black and Brown people do each and every day. Everybody wants to be 
safe, and we want safer communities.
  Tyre Nichols should still be alive today. That is why we must address 
the public health epidemic of police violence that disproportionately 
affects our communities.
  Senator Tim Scott, a Republican, in his quote was absolutely right:

       We have got to unite against this blatant disregard, he 
     said, for human life, especially from those who have been 
     entrusted with immense power and responsibility for our 
     communities.

  We are keenly aware that the police are asked to handle situations 
sometimes that they simply aren't trained for or equipped to handle. 
But like many CBC members, I've been there when a police beating or 
shooting rocked our communities.
  In my home of Charlotte, North Carolina, Keith Lamont Scott was 
having a mental health crisis when he was shot and killed by police, 
leading to the first major protest and demonstration for Black lives in 
our community.
  That doesn't absolve the officers involved of responsibility, but 
what it does mean is that with better training and a different approach 
to policing, Keith Lamont Scott could be alive today, and he should be.
  Another man, Justin Carr, lost his life during the protests. Keith 
Lamont Scott and Justin Carr should both still be alive today.
  Something has got to change to prevent further unnecessary deaths, 
and that is why the CBC and I have consistently supported the George 
Floyd Justice in Policing Act and other necessary reforms.
  Police culture needs to change, and it needs to change right now. 
That is why the CBC is actively engaging all relevant stakeholders with 
the aim of developing a legislative solution that can pass Congress and 
ensure meaningful police accountability reforms.
  For every mom and dad and son and daughter, and for every Black 
person, it is imperative that we deal with this issue and form some 
legislative solutions and some executive actions and community-based 
results.
  That is how we can put an end to this pattern of Black lives being 
taken at the hands of law enforcement.
  I leave you with the words of Zianna Oliphant, who was 9 years old 
when she addressed the Charlotte City Council in the wake of the Keith 
Lamont Scott protests in 2016.
  She said: ``I feel like that we are treated differently than other 
people. I don't like how we're treated. Just because of our color. . . 
.
  ``We are Black people, and we shouldn't have to feel like this. We 
shouldn't have to protest because y'all are treating us wrong. We do 
this because we need to and have rights.
  ``I was born and raised in Charlotte. I've never felt this way until 
now. I can't stand how we're treated. It's a shame that our fathers and 
mothers are killed, and we can't even see them anymore.''
  Mr. Speaker, 9 years old, this young lady was. The truth is clear. 
Children can even see it. I hope as the CBC continues its work, more of 
our colleagues will see the truth as well.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is 
remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Maryland has 7\1/2\ 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Bowman).
  Mr. BOWMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the CBC for putting together this 
Special Order hour.
  I just want to start out by saying this is not just a CBC issue. We 
need the Tri-Caucus to be involved in this issue, and we need the Tri-
Caucus to be speaking out on this issue.

  We also need action and courage from the Senate in terms of stopping 
the unnecessary killing of Black people throughout our country.
  Tyre Nichols should be alive. Trayvon Martin should be alive. Breonna 
Taylor should be alive. Atatiana Jefferson, Freddie Gray, Laquan 
McDonald--they all should be alive. Michael Brown, Eric Gardner, on and 
on and on and on.
  Police brutality in our country is a disease that needs to be cured. 
It is rooted in historical racism and systematic oppression in our 
country.
  This has to stop. Federal legislation needs to be implemented to stop 
it.
  One of the things we are asking for is simple accountability; that is 
all. We support law enforcement when they are doing the right thing, 
but when they commit a crime, they should be held accountable. They are 
not above the law.
  What is really painful is taxpayer money pays the salary of law 
enforcement.
  Taxpayer money pays the pensions of law enforcement.
  Taxpayer money pays for the settlements when law enforcement is sued 
in court.
  Taxpayer money pays for the lawyers.
  Cities go into debt using bonds to pay settlement claims. There is a 
billion-dollar industry of police brutality that comes out of the 
pockets of taxpayers.
  If we are going to reach the ideals of our democracy and our 
Constitution, we need to stop the unnecessary killing of Black people 
in our country.
  I will close with this: It is not just policing; it is the overall 
system of mass incarceration. We incarcerate more, and there are 
disproportionately more Black and Brown people in our country.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. 
Cherfilus-McCormick).
  Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today and say a special 
thank you to the Congressional Black Caucus, Chairman Horsford, and 
also my colleagues for having this Special Order hour.
  Mr. Speaker, my heart is broken for the family of Tyre Nichols, 
another Black man who lost his life to senseless police overreach and 
violence.
  The horrifying footage of his untimely death displays why the United 
States must pass comprehensive police reform and public safety 
legislation.
  Tyre Nichols' murder occurred in Memphis, the city where Dr. King 
lost his life fighting for a dream that we still are reaching for 
today.
  Our country must reckon with the longstanding and fraught legacy of 
racism and violence against Black people.
  Tyre Nichols, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Tamir 
Rice, and so many more Black men, women, and children should be alive 
today. Their deaths were preventable.
  Black Americans constantly find themselves trapped in an endless 
cycle of grief. Mr. Speaker, 3 decades after the heinous beating of 
Rodney King, Black communities continue to bear the deadly consequence 
of a culture of policing that allows law enforcement officials to 
dehumanize, debase, and victimize individuals without consequences.
  As a mother of two Black children, it is heartbreaking to shoulder 
your kids with the responsibility of a double-consciousness of how you 
as a parent see them, but also as the whole world sees them.
  Our Black children go from being viewed as innocent to future 
convicts in the eyes of society and in the eyes of those who are 
charged with the responsibility of protecting them.
  It is terrifying to not know if your child will return home after 
they step out that door. Mothers and fathers planning their children's 
funerals cannot become a standard in our great Nation. It is simply 
unacceptable.
  In the 117th Congress, House Democrats introduced a George Floyd 
Justice in Policing Act, which passed the House but failed in the 
Senate, ultimately failing all Black families.
  In a humanitarian call for action, I urge the House to pass public 
safety legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I end by saying their names: Tyre Nichols, George Floyd, 
Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and so many more Black 
women, men, and children would be alive today.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. 
Sykes).
  Mrs. SYKES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today during the first Congressional 
Black Caucus Special Order of the year to stand in solidarity with the 
families and loved ones in support of the safety and security of 
American citizens.

[[Page H705]]

  Tomorrow, during the State of the Union, I will be joined by Ms. 
Pamela Walker, a police accountability advocate and mother of Jayland 
Walker, a 25-year-old unarmed Black man from Akron, Ohio, who was 
fatally shot 46 times by police in June of 2022.

  Jayland Walker was just 25 years old. He was a kind, quiet, and 
thoughtful young family man who regularly spent time with his mother, 
grandmother, and sister.
  He was just beginning to live his life with aspirations of starting 
his own business or becoming a professional wrestler.
  His mother described him as the son that every mother dreams of, 
talked about how proud she was to be his mother.
  Ms. Walker is coming to the Capitol in honor of her son, demanding 
accountability, public safety, and change so that her son will not have 
died in vain or anyone else's son. No mother should ever have to go 
through what Ms. Walker experienced.
  Despite her unimaginable grief, she has displayed unwavering 
strength, dignity, and perseverance.
  Mr. Speaker, we must reexamine our institutions, how they operate and 
are governed, without the polarizing rhetoric that only leads to 
division and not solutions because the longer we are divided and 
legislation is not passed, the more lives hang in the balance, and 
public safety and security is too important to play with.
  We need to create a level of trust where our law enforcement officers 
feel like they are a part of the community, and we must also take steps 
to improve police accountability.
  There is still much work to be done to restore trust between the 
police and the communities they serve. That is why I felt it was 
important to have Ms. Walker join me tomorrow.
  Let her presence signify that enough is enough. We, as a Nation, have 
reached an inflection point because too many lives have been lost.
  I join my colleagues in calling for robust reexamination of our 
policing system, wholesale public safety policies, and bipartisan 
national solutions to this issue before more lives are lost.
  Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Representative Kamlager-Dove and 
the Congressional Black Caucus, we thank the Speaker for this 
opportunity.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________