The Biden administration on Monday threw its support behind a police reform bill pending in the House that would ban chokeholds and overhaul qualified immunity protections for law enforcement.
"To make our communities safer, we must begin by rebuilding trust between law enforcement and the people they are entrusted to serve and protect. We cannot rebuild that trust if we do not hold police officers accountable for abuses of power and tackle systemic misconduct – and systemic racism – in police departments," the White House said in a statement urging the passage of H.R. 1280, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
The bill would ban all neck restraints, including chokeholds and the kind used on Floyd as well as no-knock warrants in drug cases. It would also end the application of the doctrine of qualified immunity for law enforcement officers, NBC reports.