Democrats are expected on Monday to unveil sweeping legislation that would make it easier to prosecute police misconduct and recover damages from officers found to have violated civil rights. In the coming weeks, the Senate and the House both plan to hold hearings on proposals to improve policing and counter racial discrimination. Compared with previous instances in which black men have died after police officers have used excessive force, Republicans have been almost uniformly outraged at the case of Mr. Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The administration’s move to crack down on demonstrators prompted a rare break with Mr. Trump, as some Republicans moved to distance themselves from the president’s threats to send the military to confront protesters. Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, went so far as to endorse scathing criticism from Jim Mattis, the former defense secretary, of Mr. Trump’s handling of the protests.

Source: New York Times June 08, 2020 02:03 UTC