President Biden is poised to sign orders curbing policing Wednesday to commemorate the two-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder — despite the ongoing violent crime wave that swept pro-cop New York Mayor Eric Adams to office and prompted mayors from DC to San Francisco to try to reverse cuts to police funds.
Biden will order the creation of a national registry of cops fired for misconduct and establish policies to incentivize local governments to restrict chokeholds and no-knock warrants. He also will restrict the transfer of surplus military gear to cops, the New York Times reported.
The idea of a “bad officer” registry comes from a stalled Democratic police reform bill while the notion of incentivizing, rather than ordering, local use of force reform comes from a rival Republican bill.
The restrictions on transfers of military equipment appear to be a resurrection of former President Barack Obama’s 2015 freeze of the Pentagon’s 1033 supplies transfer program following racial unrest in Ferguson, Mo. That policy upset police advocates but was supported by libertarians including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
Biden also will order federal agencies to revise their use of force policies, the Times reported.
The focus on police reform follows two years of inaction by Congress as Republicans led by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) offered one bill and Democrats led by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) urged a farther-reaching package. As time passed, other issues gained greater focus in Congress and neither police bill passed.