Lawmakers ‘must pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act now’, Biden says, amid shock over Sonya Massey death

Joe Biden has called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, moments after shocking police video was released showing an Illinois officer fatally shooting Sonya Massey after she called police fearing a home intruder.

In his first public statement since dropping his bid for re-election, Biden said the shooting of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, by white Sangamon county sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, in her home in Springfield, after a dispute over a pot of boiling water, “reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not”.

Biden, who is recovering from Covid at his home in Delaware, said Massey, “a beloved mother, friend, daughter and young Black woman … should be alive today”.

    • PriorityMotif@lemmy.world
      151·
      4 months ago

      Police suffer from paranoid delusions that they are the “thin line” between good and evil and that they are the ultimate example of virtue. They justify their own actions as for the greater good. It is a job that requires you lack critical thinking skills and officers are brainwashed into enforcing a certain ideal puratain society where one must be obedient to authority and work hard and suffer to be a moral and good person.

      • 5oap10116@lemmy.world
        291·
        4 months ago

        Essentially: Cops are taught that everyone and everything is trying to kill them and anything that seems remotely dangerous is a lethal threat they need to “neutralize”. Also, as soon as you let your guard down, you’re dead. This leads to overreactions and unjust killings…

        Now, that’s not entirely wrong as police frequently deal with higher levels of unknown dangers but in this case…holy shit wtf?

        • SirDerpy@lemmy.world
          22·
          4 months ago

          I fully support others spending a half hour learning about what law enforcement are taught. If you’ve not seen something like this before then it’s definitely worth your time.

          I want to add that Park Rangers are law enforcement. They’ve exceptionally high standards for hiring. And, the pay sucks.

          I’ve broken rules in many parks, sometimes with good reason and sometimes without, usually very safely but once or twice definitely not. I’ve been “busted” about a dozen times by Park Rangers.

          Every single time I’ve been treated with dignity, respect, and honoring the spirit of justice over the letter of the law. I’ve not been punished when I thought I should be, then been told that’s the reason there’s no punishment. And, when I’ve been punished I’ve agreed with the severity and nature of it wholeheartedly. It’s quite literally the opposite of what I’ve experienced as a colored man in big cities.