In Columbia AG Barr says police support as important as addressing minority concerns
Visiting South Carolina on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr said police reforms must strike a balance between supporting law enforcement and addressing concerns of minority communities.
Barr and U.S. Senator Tim Scott, a North Charleston Republican, came to the state to discuss community policing issues as protests against police brutality and in support of Black Lives Matter continue across the country. Scott is the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate.
Barr and Scott spoke to reporters briefly after meeting with religious, business and community leaders at the Bethel A.M.E. Church in Columbia, where local leaders brought up the concerns of funding for body cameras, and racial profiling.
“They had a lot of detailed knowledge of some of the problems we’re facing in law enforcement and (the) relationship between law enforcement and the African American community,” Barr said after the meeting.
Barr said a balance is necessary between supporting the police and listening to concerns from minority communities to help the nation improve race relations and to ensure there isn’t police abuse.
“I think we have to avoid extremes and recognize it’s a question of prudence and balance,” Barr said. “We need a police force, we need these institutions to provide peace and security in society to allow our lives to flourish. At the same time, whenever you have that kind of institution, you have that possibility of abuse. And so you have to put reins and checks in place to make sure these institutions that are designed to protect the community don’t themselves become oppressive. It’s a question of striking the right balance.”
“It’s not defunding the police or doing away with the police or demonizing the police, nor is it giving short shrift to the legitimate concerns that are out there about police abuse and overreach,” Barr added.
The discussions of the need for police reform have been brought back to the forefront in recent months after the death of George Floyd, a Black man, while in the custody of Minneapolis police. An officer knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes while three other officers stood by. The incident was caught on cell phone cameras. Floyd’s death brought about nationwide protests. The four officers have been charged in Floyd’s death.
As part of lawmakers’ response, Scott had introduced a police reform bill, called the JUSTICE Act, which calls for increased transparency by police departments around use-of-force incidents. It also threatens to withhold federal grant money from departments that do not ban choke holds.
However Senate Democrats are blocking debate on the legislation. Scott he said he is hopeful there there can be a compromise.
Scott specifically said he has had discussions with U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, a California Democrat, who is the lead sponsor on a police reform bill in the House. Scott indicated Bass wants to come to a compromise on police reform legislation and getting something done is better than nothing at all.
“Right now we’re sitting at zero, and that speaks poorly to the American people and specifically to communities of color who have been challenged by these situations for decades,” Scott said.
Scott said his bill may have to include more information on instances of racial profiling and make it easier for victims or their families to sue police departments for serious bodily injury, while also protecting officers.
He added that lawmakers have to “thread the needle” so that good officers are protected, while making cities and departments more responsible for the culture they have created in their police agencies.
However, Scott added, Democrats cannot play politics in a presidential year if something is to get done this year.
“If they don’t come to the table with that type of concessions made, that means they’re more interested in winning elections than they are inputting police reforms,” Scott said.
This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 2:26 PM.
