Black Dem proposes Benghazi-like committee for police shootings

A senior African-American Democrat says the House should establish a select committee to investigate police using excessive force in minority communities. 

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) has introduced a resolution that would create a select panel similar to the ones reviewing Planned Parenthood and the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi.

Rush’s measure cites 11 recent examples of African-Americans facing “unjustified” deadly force from law enforcement, including Eric Garner in New York, Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., Laquan McDonald in Chicago, Tamir Rice in Cleveland and Freddie Gray in Baltimore.

{mosads}“These incidents and countless others are not isolated but reflect a pervasive pattern of racial bias in the use of excessive force in communities of color,” the resolution states.

Nine fellow Democratic members of the Congressional Black Caucus have co-sponsored the resolution: Reps. Brenda Lawrence (Mich.), Elijah Cummings (Md.), Charles Rangel (N.Y.), Hank Johnson (Ga.), Sanford Bishop (Ga.), Lacy Clay (Mo.), John Lewis (Ga.), Keith Ellison (Minn.) and Gwen Moore (Wis.). 

Multiple lawmakers signing onto the resolution have had a high-profile police shooting occur in their districts, such as the Ferguson case, which was in Clay’s district. The death of Freddie Gray in police custody happened in Baltimore, which Cummings represents.

Under the resolution, the select committee would have 12 members evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. 

The select committee would be required to issue a report, including legislative proposals, within 60 days after its creation.

Recommendations in the report would include a uniform legal definition of “excessive use of force” that could be used in prosecutions of law enforcement officers, as well as how the government should collect “accurate and reliable” data on police shootings to be made publicly available.