Politics
In Response to Ferguson Probe, Cleaver to Introduce Bill to Curb Policing for Revenue
In this Aug. 15, 2014 file photo, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson releases the name of the the officer accused of fatally shooting Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Wesley Lowery, THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON (The Washington Post)—Just days after a scathing report accused police in Ferguson, Mo of over-enforcement that is racially discriminatory and aimed at raising revenue for the city, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) will introduce a bill that would make such policing practices a federal civil rights violation.
The Fair Justice Act would make it a civil rights violation punishable by up to five years in prison for a police officer, chief or department to enforce criminal or traffic laws for the purpose of raising revenue.
“The time has come to end the practice of using law enforcement as a cash register, a practice that has impacted too many Americans and has disproportionately affected minority and low-income communities,” Cleaver said in a statement provided to The Washington Post. “No American should have to face arbitrary police enforcement whose sole purpose is to raise revenue for a town, city, or state.”
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