and adopted on June 25 by the house express essential American values of equal justice and freedom from unreasonable government intrusion or force. If the Republican-controlled Senate were true to the party’s principles, it would have passed the measure instead of shelving it.
The Senate has its own bill, limited mostly to fact-finding and promises to withhold federal funding from noncompliant police departments. It would keep in place the “qualified immunity” from liability that virtually exempts police from consequences for bad acts. Both bills are powered by the national outpouring of emotion and resolve in the wake of Floyd’s killing on May 25 under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, who was later fired and charged with murder.
Floyd’s death was followed by weeks of protest that brought attention to other outrageous police killings, such asin her home in Louisville in March. Police broke in without warning while exercising a “no-knock warrant” in a search for illegal drugs. None were found.