Sign in Subscribe
Police departments

Biden to Sign Executive Order on Police Accountability Amid Rising Tensions

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

President Joe Biden will sign an executive order aimed at improving police accountability, marking the second anniversary of George Floyd's murder. The order directs federal agencies to revise use-of-force policies, banning tactics like chokeholds and restricting no-knock warrants. It also calls for a national standard for accrediting police departments, a database to track police misconduct, and screening tools for bias among officers.

Key Takeaways:

  • The executive order, signed on the second anniversary of George Floyd's murder, directs federal agencies to revise use-of-force policies, banning tactics like chokeholds and restricting no-knock warrants.
  • The order establishes a national standard for accrediting police departments and creates a database to track police misconduct.
  • It also requires agencies to implement new tools to screen for inherent bias among officers, including those who promote unlawful violence or harbor white supremacist views.
  • The order applies to more than 100,000 federal law enforcement officers and is a reflection of a delicate balance Biden is attempting to strike on policing.
  • The order was drafted after over 100 hours of work and meetings with stakeholders, including law enforcement officials, lawmakers, civil rights and civil liberties groups, and families of victims of police violence.
  • Major policing organizations, including some that initially expressed objections, have endorsed the order.
  • The collapse of negotiations over the police reform bill named in Floyd's honor has added pressure on the White House to act.

Statistics:

  • George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for over nine minutes on May 25, 2020.
  • Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed Floyd, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.
  • Three other former officers were convicted in federal court of violating Floyd's civil rights.
  • The executive order requires agencies to implement new tools to screen for inherent bias among officers at a rate of [Not specified].
  • The database to track police misconduct will be established to track incidents at a rate of [Not specified].
  • The order applies to more than 100,000 federal law enforcement officers.

Sources:

  • White House officials (names and titles not specified)
  • Derrick Johnson, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
  • "We know full well that an executive order cannot address America's policing crisis the same way Congress has the ability to but we've got to do everything we can"
  • The New York Times (February report mentioning language in the draft version of the order)
  • Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

Read more