Report: Biden to soon sign executive actions on police reform

President Biden speaks at the Atlanta University Center Consortium — (Image credit: Megan Varner/Getty Images)

President Biden plans to sign executive actions on police reform in the near future, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News.

The details are still being worked out, but may be finalized by the beginning of Black History Month in February, the sources said. In September, the Department of Justice announced new policies prohibiting the use of chokeholds unless deadly force is authorized and limiting "no-knock" warrants, and NBC News says it's not yet clear how Biden's executive actions will differ.

Before bipartisan talks on police reform fell apart in the Senate last year, Biden decided against signing any executive actions because he didn't want to get in the way of negotiations. In September, Biden shared his disappointment over the Senate not supporting the House-passed George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, but said he still hoped to "sign into law a comprehensive and meaningful police reform bill that honors the name and memory of George Floyd, because we need legislation to ensure lasting and meaningful change."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.