In the vein of Cesar and Martin, Latino and African American leaders are united across the county to denounce hate and profiling that we see happening even in my congressional district – in Harlem, Bronx and Washington Heights.

As a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), I am proud to stand with my Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) colleagues to demand justice and call for an end to the police brutality and targeting of African Americans around the nation.

The Justice in Policing Act aims to remove barriers to prosecuting police misconduct and recovering damages from officers who have violated civilians’ rights, including by ending qualified immunity by law enforcement; demilitarize the police by limiting the transfer of military weaponry to state and local police departments; combat police brutality, including by requiring body and dashboard cameras, banning chokeholds, ending the use of no-knock warrants in drug cases and enacting steps to end racial profiling; step up pressure on the Justice Department to address systemic racial discrimination by law enforcement; and, officially make lynching a federal hate crime, as the House did in passing H.R. 35 earlier this year.

Many of my legislative priorities were also included in the Justice in Policing Act, which are policies highlighted in my Harlem Manifesto:

Denial of Rights Prevention and Accountability Act, which I introduced last week to change the 18 U.S.C. Sec.

242 mens rea requirement from willfulness to recklessness; the Eric Garner Excessive Use of Force Prevention Act, which prohibits and makes punishable the use of a chokehold or any maneuvers restricting blood flow or oxygen to the brain; the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, which explicitly states that the judicial theory of qualified immunity is not a defense to liability; the Police Exercising Absolute Care with Everyone (PEACE) Act to change the use of force standard for officers to require that force must be necessary, as a last resort; the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, which prohibits the Defense Department from transferring military weapons to state and local law enforcement agencies; the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act, which creates accreditation standards to ensure compliance with approved practices and transparency within the community; and, the Police CAMERA Act, which would require all law enforcement officers to wear body cameras and prohibit the seizure of cell phones or other recording devices used to document police interactions.

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Richard H. Austin

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