George Floyd suffocated to death after a white police officer knelt in his neck. (File)
Washington:
President Joe Biden will sign an executive order Wednesday to further control federal law enforcement, two years after African-American George Floyd was killed by a white police officer on a Minneapolis street.
The White House called the move “historic” in a press release, but the new executive order did not live up to Biden’s promise of major police reform during his election campaign.
The text provides for the creation of a national register to list all reports, disciplinary procedures and complaints concerning members of federal law enforcement agencies, the administration said.
U.S. state and local authorities, who have extensive law enforcement powers, will also be “encouraged” to join the register, and will be able to consult with it.
The order again prohibits the use of carotid artery suffocation or compression techniques at the federal level, except in exceptional circumstances.
It also limits law enforcement’s ability to enter property without due diligence, a controversial principle known as “no knock”.
The Biden administration will ask federal law enforcement agencies to extend the use of body cameras during arrests and searches and to expedite the release of images in the event of a death.
The decree further states that lethal force should be used only if it is “necessary” and that police limit the use of military equipment during operations.
The signing date is highly symbolic, coming just two years after Floyd’s death, which sparked massive nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.
A senior White House official said Biden would sign the executive order in the presence of Floyd’s family members, the families of other victims of police brutality and law enforcement officials.
Floyd died of asphyxiation after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.
Biden promised deep police reform in the run-up to the campaign.
Although the executive order allows him to bypass the issue of working out a bill through Congress, where his Democratic Party lacks a sufficient majority, it has more limited scope and will only apply at the federal level, to frustrate groups fighting racism and policing. Violence
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published from a syndicated feed.)
