Bennet Urges Republican Colleagues To Support Real Accountability By Backing Justice In Policing Act

Senator Criticizes Republican Policing Bill as Inadequate

VIDEO: Watch Bennet’s floor speech from yesterday HERE

Washington, D.C.  Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet released the following statement criticizing the Senate Republicans’ policing bill as inadequate and urging a vote on the more comprehensive Justice in Policing Act. Bennet continues to urge his Republican colleagues to follow the example of Colorado, which became the first state in the country to pass a sweeping police reform bill with broad bipartisan support.  

“There is virtually nothing in the Senate Republican police reform bill that responds to the families calling for justice, or to save lives from police practices that have no place in America in the year 2020,” said Bennet. “Last week, Colorado became the first state in America to pass a sweeping police accountability bill into law. It sets a standard for what we need to do in Washington – which is to pass the Justice in Policing Act that Senator Harris and Senator Booker have put forward. We will never heal as a nation, unless we confront and dismantle the systemic injustice and the systemic racism that still plagues America, and part of that is holding law enforcement accountable and ensuring they meet a higher standard.”

In a floor speech delivered yesterday, Bennet urged the Senate to do everything in its power to answer the call of Americans in our streets and downtowns – from D.C. to Denver, and beyond – who are asking for an America where no one is denied protection of the law, or justice, or their own life, because of the color of their skin.

A side-by-side of the Justice in Policing Act and the JUSTICE Act is available HERE