Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Ron Kind voted against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Below is Rep. Kind’s statement:  

“I’m disappointed that after eight months, my work to increase resources for de-escalation, implicit bias, and diversity training was ignored.  Today, for every 15 hours that an officer spends on the shooting range they spend one hour in these other training programs. There needs to be a better balance.   

“We also need to ensure that good officers are not subjected to frivolous lawsuits, which may force them to leave their profession and make the recruitment of good people into law enforcement more difficult.    

“This is a long legislative process and I look forward to working with the Senate to improve these provisions so there is a strong bipartisan bill to support. But battling systemic racism goes beyond reforming law enforcement practices, there is a role for each of us to strive for an inclusive society where all our fellow citizens are treated with respect and dignity.”  

Rep. Kind offered an amendment to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that would have provided $100 million in funding to help Law Enforcement Officers implement training programs covering racial bias, implicit bias, procedural justice, and de-escalation. Unfortunately, this amendment was not included in the final bill.  

Following the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act during the 116th Congress, Rep. Kind engaged in ongoing discussions with stakeholders and community leaders across Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District regarding combating systemic racism. Rep. Kind also attended a peaceful demonstration calling for reform that was led by students of his alma mater, Logan High School, in June 2020.

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