June 02, 2020

Duckworth on Senate Floor Urges Every American to Fight for Justice in Wake of George Floyd’s Killing

Senator asks for unanimous consent of her police reform bill

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – After days of unrest and protests across the country following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor to urge immediate action and call for unanimous consent to pass her legislation, the Police Training and Independent Review Act. This bill would help restore trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve by helping prevent police-involved deaths and encourage independent, impartial investigations into law enforcement officials’ use of deadly force. In her remarks, Duckworth also condemned Trump for his misuse of the Armed Forces in an attempt to divide America. Video of the Senator’s speech is available here.

Key quotes:

  • “George Floyd’s death was unnecessary and heartbreaking. It was a tragedy—but horrifyingly, it was not an anomaly. […] The horror of the moment then the outrage and sadness and anger that follow have turned into a pattern that too many people appear to believe is normal. It’s not—and we cannot, must not, let ourselves become numb to the reality in front of us. […] George Floyd was born in a country built on the belief that we’re all created equal—but he died in a country that still has not fully realized that we must all be treated equally as well.”
  • “In moments like these, it’s more important than ever to recognize the privilege that many of us have. I’ll never be forced to sit my daughters down and have the same talk with them that black mothers must have with their children—especially their sons—about how exactly to move and speak when interacting with police officers to preemptively reassure them that they pose no danger. Or about the fundamental racism that mars our society that’ll question their motives and their right to be somewhere just because of the shade of their skin. Or about the systemic biases that lead too many Americans—including those in positions of power—to view unarmed black children as more threatening than white adults holding semi-automatic rifles.”
  • “So I’ve come to the floor today to request unanimous consent on S. 1938, the Police Training and Independent Review Act, the second bill I ever introduced into this august body more than three years ago. This bill would demand that local law enforcement agencies change use of force policies and that every American receives fair treatment under the law… commonsense policy that I believe responsible law enforcement officers would welcome so they could better protect and serve their communities.”
  • “We cannot let ourselves accept that in the United States of America, in the year 2020, black men are still being publicly executed without judge or jury. For about nine minutes last Monday, somebody’s son, somebody’s father, was forced to know he was dying… forced to beg for his life until he couldn’t beg any longer. George Floyd can’t breathe anymore. So it’s on those of us lucky enough to still be here today to use every breath we have to fight for the justice he was robbed of on that street in Minneapolis last week.”

Duckworth’s full remarks as prepared are below:

  • First, he said “I can’t breathe.”
  • Then, he called out “mama” for his late mother.
  • Last Monday, in broad daylight, George Floyd was slowly, publicly killed by someone whose responsibility was to “protect and serve.” 
  • Officer Derek Chauvin, who’s since been rightly fired, spent about three minutes ignoring Floyd’s cries of pain—refusing to move his knee from Floyd’s neck, refusing to let up… to get up… even as the man under him begged for life and lost consciousness.
  • Then he spent another roughly six minutes after Floyd had fallen silent ignoring the growing number of witnesses who begged for him to see the obvious: that the man under his knee was unresponsive… that he was dying.
  • As a mom, there aren’t words to describe the visceral, gut-wrenching feeling of hearing someone cry out for their mother in a moment of such desperation.
  • George Floyd’s death was unnecessary and heartbreaking. It was a tragedy—but horrifyingly, it was not an anomaly.
  • From Eric Garner who told us six years ago that he, too, couldn’t breathe to Tamir Rice who never made it to his thirteenth birthday, the senseless killing of unarmed black Americans at the hands of law enforcement has become an all-too-common occurrence.
  • The horror of the moment then the outrage and sadness and anger that follow have turned into a pattern that too many people appear to believe is normal.
  • It’s not—and we cannot, must not, let ourselves become numb to the reality in front of us:
  • George Floyd was someone’s son, who with his dying breath called out for his mother who had previously passed away.
  • He had a six-year-old daughter, who will not only grow up without a father, but knowing that she, too, could face the same danger every day just because of the color of her skin. 
  • George Floyd was born in a country built on the belief that we’re all created equal—but he died in a country that still has not fully realized that we must all be treated equally as well.
  • It is long, long past time for action. We needed it before George Floyd. We needed it before Breonna Taylor, before Laquan McDonald and before countless others were killed, too.
  • And we need real leaders who listen to Americans’ cries for help and give those fighting for justice a platform to be heard.
  • But sadly… though unsurprisingly… Donald Trump has done the opposite over the past few days:
  • Trampling First Amendment rights by ordering federal law enforcement to assault those who stood in the way of his photo op…
  • Exploiting our military and disrespecting our troops by using them as a cudgel to silence our neighbors and further divide our country.
  • Donald Trump may be our current Commander in Chief—but teargassing peaceful protestors is not leadership, it’s cowardice. Threatening military force against Americans exercising their Constitutional rights is not presidential, it’s tin-pot dictatorial.
  • You know, in moments like these, it’s more important than ever to recognize the privilege that many of us have.
  • I’ll never be forced to sit my daughters down and have the same talk with them that black mothers must have with their children—especially their sons—about how exactly to move and speak when interacting with police officers to preemptively reassure them that they pose no danger.
  • Or about the fundamental racism that mars our society that’ll question their motives and their right to be somewhere just because of the shade of their skin.
  • Or about the systemic biases that lead too many Americans—including those in positions of power—to view unarmed black children as more threatening than white adults holding semi-automatic rifles.
  • And I know that I’ll never be able to fully comprehend the fear that those parents must face every time their child steps outside…
  • Every time they dare to walk to school or play on the playground or buy some Skittles while black.
  • But what I do know is that the burden of all this pain and trauma can’t fall on those families alone.
  • The responsibility… the work… of bending the moral arc of the universe towards justice can’t just be put on the backs of those who’ve been feeling its weight this whole time.
  • The systemic injustices in our country are not going away by themselves, and they will not be solved if too many good, decent Americans remain silent.
  • If we choose to avoid difficult realities and tough conversations simply because they make us uncomfortable, we are failing to do our part in achieving anything close to a more perfect union.
  • And those of us who’ve benefited from the privileges we’ve been afforded by society have a duty to recognize the costs borne by those who’ve been denied those same privileges for generations.
  • I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I do know that we must do more.
  • On a personal level, for me, that’s included spending time with both of my daughters discussing what true justice and equality means and how to practice it…
  • So that if they grow up to become police officers themselves, they don’t reflexively treat black Americans as more dangerous than anyone else...
  • So that when they see a young black men shopping, their first thought would never be that he's shoplifting…
  • So that no matter what they do in life, they judge people by the content of their characters, not the color of their skin.
  • My girls may be just five and two, but it’s never too early for all of us to talk to our kids about treating others how you want to be treated…
  • Because our neighbors… our American brothers and sisters… need more vocal allies in this fight.
  • I hope to raise two of those allies in my daughters… and today, I hope to find 99 other fellow allies in my colleagues here in the Senate.
  • As it is on each of us lucky enough to serve under this great Capitol Dome to use this moment to fight for justice and accountability for the families, like George Floyd’s, who’ve had someone so cruelly… so needlessly… stolen from them.  
  • So I’ve come to the floor today to request unanimous consent on S. 1938, the Police Training and Independent Review Act, the second bill I ever introduced into this august body more than three years ago.
  • This bill would demand that local law enforcement agencies change use of force policies and that every American receives fair treatment under the law… commonsense policy that I believe responsible law enforcement officers would welcome so they could better protect and serve their communities. 
  • It would establish a new grant program so states can implement racial-bias training at police academies to help officers deescalate tense situations. 
  • It would also encourage states to establish a transparent system where independent prosecutors review police uses of force and prosecute officers who break the laws they were entrusted to enforce…
  • Because local prosecutors often have a bias:
  • They rely on the same police departments to win other cases—which is why it’s so critical that we let outside, independent prosecutors do the investigating and prosecuting instead.
  • For me, it comes down to this:
  • We cannot let ourselves accept that in the United States of America, in the year 2020, black men are still being publicly executed without judge or jury.
  • For about nine minutes last Monday, somebody’s son, somebody’s father, was forced to know he was dying… forced to beg for his life until he couldn’t beg any longer.
  • George Floyd can’t breathe anymore. So it’s on those of us lucky enough to still be here today to use every breath we have to fight for the justice he was robbed of on that street in Minneapolis last week. 
  • I know I will, and I hope every other American will join me.
  • Thank you.