Joe Biden has called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, moments after shocking police video was released showing an Illinois officer fatally shooting Sonya Massey after she called police fearing a home intruder.

In his first public statement since dropping his bid for re-election, Biden said the shooting of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, by white Sangamon county sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, in her home in Springfield, after a dispute over a pot of boiling water, “reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not”.

Biden, who is recovering from Covid at his home in Delaware, said Massey, “a beloved mother, friend, daughter and young Black woman … should be alive today”.

  • 2ugly2live@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    That was worse than I was picturing. She immediately dropped to her knees while saying sorry (twice, panicked) , with her hands up and they shot her. She had released the pot the moment they got aggravated. It’s such a shame that this keeps happening and the only response police have is “more money please.”

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Just tired of reading about this shit while our DOJ twiddles its thumbs and our legislature waves little “Blue Lives Matter” flags in the faces of the survivors.

  • Nougat@fedia.io
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    2 months ago

    For those not in the know, Springfield, IL, is the state capital (capitol?). It’s waaaay down in the generally rural middle of the state, with a 2022 population of just over 113,000. It is not anything like the Chicago metro area.

  • TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Does the proposed bill ensure American police get like three years training to become community-oriented and not a power tripping police officers?

    • Bernie_Sandals@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      What federal law did these cops break that the DOJ could prosecute?

      He’s doing about the entirety of what he can do right now by urging congress to pass this bill, he’s already signed several executive orders on police reform.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Well, isn’t murder a crime?

          Not when it is part of an official government act, at least according to the SCOTUS.

          Strafe a hospital, bomb a wedding, waterboard a migrant, rape a nun. It’s all good, so long as you’re doing it on the payroll of a state institution.