Democratic lawmakers advocate for police reform bills following failed attempts
(CBS DETROIT) - A group of Michigan legislators are coming together to reintroduce a bill package for police reform.
The move comes following the death of Tyre Nichols. The 29-year-old was fatally beat by five ex-Memphis police officers during a traffic stop.
Sponsors of the bills say more needs to be done to prevent police brutality.
The Michigan Legislative Black Caucus is pushing to bring a set of bills back for a vote.
The group of lawmakers are advocating for police reform, again, in hopes that this time it will pass in the Democratic-led House and Senate.
The reform package addresses no-knock warrants, anti-bias training, use of force and consequences for abusive officers.
The 12-bill package was first introduced in 2020 following the death of George Floyd but failed under republican control.
The bills stalled last session, despite public outrage sparked for Patrick Loyola who was fatally shot in the back by a grand rapids police officer in April 2022.
Now, Nichols' death is peeling back an old wound.
"These are the sentiments of the black community that have been tried and true for several years and many years and its sad to be a mother of children that you have to have a conversation with, how to interact with our public safety service," said Senator Sylvia Santana.
A 2021 University of Michigan survey shows 6 in 10 adults in Detroit support police reform.
The report reveals police killings involving black and brown people stems from a deep history of police abusing their power when interacting with people of color.
Santana is telling CBS News Detroit the bills are not meant to condemn all police agencies. She says, instead, it's meant to focus on bad actors inflicting an abusive culture.
"Ultimately, I believe that there has been some egregious activities within the confines of the law in some of the criteria of policing and that have been over zealous in the way that law enforcement has acted in the community," Santana explained.
"So, these are just more check points to make sure that they are following a culture that indicates that they are going to follow a certain protocol when they're you know stopping people, when they're knocking doors."
