House passes sweeping police overhaul bill

The House on Thursday passed a police overhaul bill named for George Floyd that would ban chokeholds, prohibit some no-knock warrants, and create a national database to track officer misconduct.

The vote was 236-181, with three moderate Republicans — Reps. Will Hurd of Texas, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Fred Upton of Michigan — joining the Democrats to pass the bill. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was drafted by the Congressional Black Caucus, and backed by civil rights groups and the parents of Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, and John Crawford III — three Black males who were killed by police.

On May 25, Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man, died after a white police officer kept his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. His death sparked anti-racism and anti-police brutality demonstrations across the country, and before the vote, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said, "To the protesters: We hear you, we see you, we are you."

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On Wednesday, the Senate failed to advance its narrower policing bill, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has indicated he will not take up the House package. The White House urged Republicans to vote against the House bill, believing that police should not be held personally liable for misconduct on the job, Politico reports.