Al Sharpton proposes national police laws after Walter Scott killing


Following the killing of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man whose death at the hands of a white police officer was caught on camera this week, Rev. Al Sharpton called for legislation to reform policing at the national level.
"There must be national policy and national law on policing," Sharpton argued at his National Action Network’s convention. "We can't go from state to state, we've got to have national law to protect people against these continued questions."
Sharpton commended the police department involved in Scott's shooting, as it has already charged the officer responsible with murder. However, he added, "we cannot have a justice system that hopes we have a mayor in the right city or a police chief. We have to have one policy that is national."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.