For Immediate Release

Contact: bowman.press@mail.house.gov

NEWS: Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s Statement on Two-Year Anniversary of George Floyd’s Murder 

Yonkers, NY – Today, Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D. (NY-16) issued the following statement in recognition of George Floyd’s Murder two years ago yesterday on May 25, 2020.

“Two years after George Floyd’s death, and we’ve yet to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act,” said Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D (NY-16). “Why? Because the Senate has been allowed to sit on their hands without functioning for the American people. Specifically, the Senate has failed to abolish the filibuster which would allow us to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. This could only happen in a country where Black lives and people of color are seen as less than. Our failure to act is a signal to bad actors in law enforcement that murdering Black people is okay. There are too many police officers, lawyers, prosecutors, and judges in our criminal justice system who support a system that lacks accountability. From beginning to end, the entire criminal justice system keeps rich, often white, people employed and making money. Our failure to pass  the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act says Black lives are not more important than the billion dollar policing and prison industry. Also true and more nefarious, is the fact that according to FBI data, white nationalists sympathizers have infiltrated police departments all across the country. They continue to persecute people like me and are protected by a badge and uniform. We need accountability, and not that type where we rely on police officers to account for their own wrongs. The type that forces our criminal justice system to uphold and obey the law without snatching away people’s right to life and liberty. Unfortunately, we have a system right now where that is not the case. Let us all have the courage to do what’s right, so that no one dies or is unnecessarily the victim of police violence again.”

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