For years, headlines have filled the airwaves with stories of people being killed by police in the United States. Many of these individuals have been unarmed and appear to be clear uses of excessive force to the average citizen. African-American men are disproportionately affected by this trend and it is beyond time for Congress to act in solving this issue.
To date, multiple bills have been introduced with none of those passing out of committee. Congress should move to enact legislation that requires reform for all state and local recipients of federal grant dollars. Such legislation shall require reforms in training, equipment purchase and use-of-force in addition to requiring federal review of officer-involved shootings that result in a death.