2009
Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department aggressively used consent decrees to push changes at police forces found to engage in a consistent pattern of abuse. The people nationwide decried the police killings of Black men in Baltimore, Chicago and Ferguson, Mo.
A consent decree is a court-ordered agreement between law enforcement and the Department of Justice to correct systemic misconduct in police departments.
2020
Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) introduces the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, the most comprehensive bill to reform law enforcement and strengthen accountability in our country’s history.
The sweeping police reform legislation would hold police accountable in court for egregious misconduct, increase transparency through better data collection, and improve police practices and training.
“America’s sidewalks are stained with Black blood,” said Harris. “In the wake of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor’s murders, we must ask ourselves: how many more times must our families and our communities be put through the trauma of an unarmed Black man or woman’s killing at the hands of the very police who are sworn to protect and serve them?
The bill would
- Ban choke holds
- End racial and religious profiling
- Eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement
- Mandate data collection on police encounters
Republicans in Congress refuse to take a vote on the bill.
2022
President Biden signs an executive order on police reform on the second anniversary of George Floyd's murder.
The Executive order:
Federal Accountability: Established the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database to track federal officer misconduct records.
Use of Force Restrictions: Banned chokeholds and restricted no-knock warrants for federal law enforcement agencies.
The Biden/Harris administration used the DOJ Civil Rights Division to investigate systemic civil rights abuses and unconstitutional policing.
The Biden administration (2021–2025) aggressively utilized federal consent decrees to address police misconduct and systemic issues, opening 12 investigations , including cases in Minneapolis and Springfield.
These court-enforceable settlements mandated police reform across the country.
The second Trump administration cuts the use of consent decrees to address police misconduct across the country.