June 9, 2020
Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13)
Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) announced support of the Justice in Policing Act, led by members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), which would take key steps to achieve transformational, structural change to combat the pattern of police violence:
The Justice in Policing Act aims to remove barriers to prosecuting police misconduct and recovering damages from officers who have violated civilians’ rights, including by ending qualified immunity by law enforcement; demilitarize the police by limiting the transfer of military weaponry to state and local police departments; combat police brutality, including by requiring body and dashboard cameras, banning chokeholds, ending the use of no-knock warrants in drug cases and enacting steps to end racial profiling; step up pressure on the Justice Department to address systemic racial discrimination by law enforcement; and, officially make lynching a federal hate crime, as the House did in passing H.R. 35 earlier this year.
“I am proud to stand in unity and solidarity with my Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) colleagues to demand justice and call for an end to the police brutality and targeting of African Americans around the nation,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13). “I have long fought for communities of color in my district and will continue my fight for African American and Latino families to ensure all persons are treated equally under the law. Now is the time for systemic and transformational reform of America’s policing system, to transition away from a policing-first model. The best anti-crime policies are anti-poverty policies, and we must invest in our communities to foster opportunity. If we fail to act and implement real change, history will judge us by our inaction and failure to ensure life, liberty and justice for all persons in our nation.”
Last week, Rep. Espaillat announced the Harlem Manifesto, a series of legislative policies to urge for the end of police brutality and targeting of African Americans throughout the nation. Additionally, Espaillat introduced the Denial of Rights Prevention and Accountability Act that would hold officers accountable in court for abuses committed under the color of the law, and create a new statute that would lower the mens rea bar from willful deprivation of rights to reckless deprivation of rights, thereby permitting prosecutors to successfully hold law enforcement officers liable for the deprivation of civil rights and liberties.
Espaillat legislative priorities he fought for and prioritized in his Harlem Manifesto that are included in CBC, House Democrats’ Justice in Policing Act:
• Denial of Rights Prevention and Accountability Act – Congressman Espaillat introduced this bill, which changes the 18 U.S.C. Sec. 242 mens rea requirement from willfulness to recklessness, permitting prosecutors to successfully hold law enforcement accountable for the deprivation of civil rights and civil liberties.
• Eric Garner Excessive Use of Force Prevention Act – This bill prohibits and makes punishable the use of a chokehold or any maneuvers that restrict the flow of blood or oxygen to the brain.
• Ending Qualified Immunity Act – This bill explicitly states that the judicial theory of qualified immunity is not a defense to liability, ensuring that the courts can’t let police officers off the hook for civil charges in cases constitutional violations.
• Police Exercising Absolute Care with Everyone (PEACE) Act – This bill changes the use of force standard for officers to require that force must be necessary, as a last resort, to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury, and no reasonable alternatives were available.
• Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act – This bill prohibits the Defense Department from transferring military weapons to state and local law enforcement agencies.
• Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act – This bill creates accreditation standards to ensure compliance with approved practices and transparency within the community.
• Police CAMERA Act – This bill requires all law enforcement officers to wear body cameras and prohibit the seizure of cell phones or other recording devices used to document police interactions without a person’s consent or a warrant.
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First elected to Congress in 2016, Rep. Adriano Espaillat is serving his second term in Congress where he serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Small Business Committee. He serves as a Senior Whip of the House Democratic Caucus and is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) where he also serves in a leadership role as CHC Whip. He is also chairman of the CHC Task Force for Transportation, Infrastructure and Housing. Rep. Espaillat’s Congressional District includes Harlem, East Harlem, northern Manhattan and the north-west Bronx. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.