Rep. Brooks wants policy over politics in police reform

Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks (R-Ind.05) on Thursday provided the following statement after voting against H.R. 7120 the Justice in Policing Act:

Brooks

“Americans made their voices clear: They want police reform and they want it now. It is incredibly disappointing we are missing a moment in time when both parties in Congress have significant agreement on how our country can change for the better. The fact of the matter is strong majority of the provisions of the Republican JUSTICE Act and the Democratic Justice in Policing Act are the same. Unfortunately, House Democrats chose to not work with the House Republicans on this lifesaving legislative moment. House Democrats instead will only accept 100 percent of what they want. History teaches us that any meaningful reforms must be bipartisan to succeed, which is why I’m incredibly disappointed Democrats chose to put election messaging before meaningful reform. Americans should know that it wasn’t the Republicans who chose to not come to the negotiating table. Republicans still stand ready to work with Democrats to provide meaningful reforms to police practices.

“I support abolishing the use of chokeholds by police officers. I support efforts to track police misconduct and misuse of force. I support the use of federal funds to ensure that law enforcement officers, including Indiana’s, use body cameras. I support law enforcement receiving additional training to respond without bias. I support establishing a Department of Justice task force to coordinate the investigation, prosecution, and enforcement efforts of federal, state and local governments in cases related to law enforcement misconduct.

“The devastating reality of the Democrats politicizing this issue is that we will not enact reform now and eventually we will find ourselves in this very same situation debating this very same issue in the future. There is a strong will on both sides of the aisle to pass police reform legislation. I encourage my Democratic colleagues to work with us on getting this done once to help secure justice for all.”