On the heels of the murder conviction against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, San Diego civil rights leaders are calling on the County Board of Supervisors and the San Diego City Council to formally support the federal George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (H.R. 1280).
Rev. Shane Harris, president of the People’s Association of Justice Advocates, urged San Diego leaders to take action.
“Yesterday was a round in the fight, but the fight isn’t over,” Harris said. “We need to come together to pass legitimate reform.”
Harris is calling for San Diego to pass a formal resolution in support of H.R. 1280 to show that the city of San Diego and the county are prepared to continue fighting for police reforms.
The federal bill, which passed in the House in March and is awaiting a Senate vote, would ban chokeholds, limit qualified immunity, prohibit racial profiling, and introduce several other police reforms.
Bishop Cornelius Bowser of the Charity Apostolic Church of San Diego says the bill would have a major impact in San Diego.
“I believe that if this bill gets passed we will be taking a radical step and that’s what we need if we are going to reimagine policing,” Bowser said.
Supervisor Nathan Fletcher says the board will vote whether to support the bill on May 4.
