Major police reforms enacted since George Floyd’s death

More than a month of protests across the U.S. following George Floyd’s killing have put pressure on governments to scale back the use of force police officers can use on civilians and create new oversight for officer conduct.

Why it matters: Police reforms of this scale have not taken place in response to the Black Lives Matter movement since its inception in 2013, after George Zimmerman’s acquittal for shooting Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager.

What’s new: The Minneapolis City Council voted on Friday to replace the city’s police department with a community-based public safety model. The measure is now under review by the city’s Charter Commission.

Catch up quick: Georgia Gov. Bill Kemp signed a bipartisan bill on Friday that requires police officers to document when someone is subjected to a hate crime on the basis of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, religion or national origin.

• Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kennedy announced on Thursday that the city’s police commissioner has placed a moratorium on tear gas and “other non-lethal methods,” in response to videos of corralled Black Lives Matter protesters being tear gassed on June 1.
• The Minnesota Legislature failed to reach a deal on police reform measures, as Republicans clashed with Democrats pushing for restoring voting rights to felons and entrusting the state’s attorney general with prosecuting police killings, the New York Times reports.
• The Georgia House voted 152-3 on June 19 to let voters decide to eliminate county police departments, which would transfer authority to county sheriff offices, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports. The bill now moves to the state Senate.
• The New York City Council voted on June 18 to require the NYPD to disclose what forms of surveillance technology officers use, and to report what rules are in place to protect personal data collected by officers, CNET reports.
• President Trump signed an executive order on June 16 that incentivizes police departments to ban chokeholds in order to receive federal grants. The order also moves to create a national registry for officers with a track record of excessive force.
• Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed an executive order on June 15 to ban state police from using chokeholds, require that troopers wear body cameras and report all use of force on civilians, and prohibit the state’s emergency services from buying military-grade equipment from the federal government.
• Seattle City Council banned the use of tear gas and chokeholds by police on June 15, per the Seattle Times.
  • Seattle’s Black Lives Matter chapter is suing the city’s police alongside the ACLU, accusing officers of using chemical irritants on protesters a day after Mayor Jenny Durkan announced a 30-day ban on tear gas.
  • Durkan said on June 8 she would issue an order mandating that officers turn on body cameras during protests.
• New York Police Department commissioner Dermot Shea announced on June 15 the NYPD would disband its plainclothes anti-crime unit.
  • New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said June 13 that police must work with communities to enact reforms by April 1, 2021 to be eligible for state funds.
  • Cuomo signed an executive order on the reforms on June 12, along with legislation to ban police use of chokeholds and repeal a decades-old law that sealed records of alleged officer misconduct from the public.
  • The New York City Council announced its support on June 12 for cutting the NYPD budget by $1 billion next year after Mayor Bill De Blasio pledged to do so.
• Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) endorsed proposed police reforms including a ban on restraints and chokeholds, and state Attorney General Keith Ellison will have independent jurisdiction over the prosecution of police-involved deaths.
  • A Hennepin County judge approved a deal on June 8 between Minneapolis and the city’s human rights department to ban police chokeholds and neck restraints, and require officers witnessing unauthorized force to intervene.
• Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced on June 9 that the city would redirect $7 million from the police to communities of color, but did not detail what aspects of communities would be served. He said the city would remove police officers from schools, but did not set a date for the policy.
• The Phoenix Police Department said on June 9 it wouldn’t allow officers to use the “sleeper” hold, a few days after California Gov. Gavin Newsom directed state police to do the same.
• In California, the Berkeley City Council voted to prohibit the use of tear gas without setting an end date to the ban.
  • Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced on June 9 her department’s investigation bureau would stop using the carotid “sleeper” chokehold.
  • San Francisco Mayor London Breed directed the city’s police department to ban the use of tear gas, tanks and bayonets on unarmed civilians.
• In Texas, Austin City Council unanimously voted to limit police use of force and reduce the department’s 2021 budget, the Texas Tribune reports.
  • Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner signed an order on June 10 to ban police use of neck restraints and chokeholds, “unless objectively necessary to prevent imminent serious bodily injury or death to the officer or others.” He added officers couldn’t kneel on a suspect’s neck and body cameras must be used by those serving a no-knock warrant.
  • Dallas police officers were ordered by the city’s police chief earlier this month to intervene if another officer uses excessive force, NPR reports.
• Iowa passed a reform bill on June 11 specifying that chokeholds are only acceptable “when a person cannot be captured any other way” or if the officer “reasonably believes the person would use deadly force.”
• Louisville, Kentucky‘s Metro Council unanimously voted on June 11 to ban “no-knock” search warrants in the city.
• The Washington, D.C., Council passed 90-day legislation banning officers from using rubber bullets or chemical irritants on peaceful protesters, the Washington Post reports.
• The Broward County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office said it would ban officers from using chokeholds unless “deadly force is justified” and prohibit officers from shooting at moving vehicles unless there are life threatening circumstances.
• Denver’s police announced that its officers and SWAT unit would turn on body cameras during “tactical operations,” and officers will need to report to a supervisor “if they intentionally point any firearm at a person.”
• New Jersey’s attorney general announced earlier this month his office would update its use-of-force policy for all police in New Jersey by the end of the year.

-Axios