Policy reform and accountability must lead to a change in police hearts and minds. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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Last week, Tyre Nichols became the latest Black man to die at the hands of a brutal police force. We recoil in horror at the video evidence, which documented the inexplicable and absolutely unjustifiable actions of the police.

It is now three years since the murder of George Floyd and nine years after the killing of Eric Garner. How could these officers act with such vicious nonchalance, knowing they were on video — knowing they themselves were videotaping their actions?

This is not the first reported incident of police violence in Memphis. The city instituted reforms put forward by activists. Yet those changes haven’t been enough to overcome the weight of the department’s history and practice. And all the while, violence cascaded, with Memphis now having among the nation’s highest rates of murder and other crimes.

All this makes clear again that policing in the United States urgently needs change. American police get far less training than their counterparts in other countries. They are charged with substituting for broken or nonexistent social service and mental health systems. Increasingly, they are organized in a quasi-military style, taught to view their mission as patrolling enemy territory rather than protecting communities.

The people of Memphis, like so many other cities, have not demanded less police protection — they insist on better policing and the respectful protection taken for granted in so many communities. Public safety and justice must go hand in hand.

As we’ve said before, this challenge demands national action. The House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in 2020 and 2021. Yet the Senate has failed to pass it. The bill includes national use-of-force standards. It also includes a national registry of police misconduct to prevent problematic officers who leave one agency from moving to another jurisdiction without any accountability. The bill would end no-knock warrants, which endanger the public far more than they protect it, and it would withhold federal funds from agencies that do not prohibit the use of chokeholds. It would limit the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local law enforcement, and it would strengthen the Justice Department’s authority to pursue abuse.

Federal funds, too, could encourage cities, counties, and agencies to rethink how they deploy law enforcement

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and deliver public safety. Policies can limit police discretion and duties during traffic stops while increasing the use of non–law enforcement personnel to respond to nonviolent incidents. (Studies show that Black and Latino drivers are stopped and searched at much higher rates than white drivers, even though they drive less.)

Yet these reforms alone won’t change the dominant culture of policing. We must reshape the incentive structure that drives the use of discretion toward violent ends, too often against people of color. When officers abuse their power, there must be swift and certain accountability.

Otherwise, years from now, we will find ourselves watching a new video, asking the same questions, and mourning yet another Tyre Nichols.





Innovations in Campaign Finance

At a time when national megadonors are spending to influence even local races, New York State’s newly launched public campaign finance program has the potential to give everyday New Yorkers a much bigger say in which candidates can run for office and win. A new joint analysis by the Brennan Center and OpenSecrets found that if the program had been in effect for the 2022 elections, it would have amplified the power of small donors sixfold in legislative races and sevenfold in statewide races. This type of program is a vital antidote to the dominance of wealthy interests. States and cities nationwide should follow New York’s lead. Read more

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The Scandal-Ridden Legacy of Citizens United

The latest campaign finance scandals involving New York Rep. George Santos and crypto exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried can be traced back — at least in part — to Supreme Court decisions that opened the floodgates to big money in politics. The other share of the blame lies with the Federal Election Commission, which has done little to enforce existing rules and close legal loopholes. As a result, Marina Pino explains, we are living in a Wild West era of campaign finance that makes candidates and wealthy donors believe they can get away with just about anything. READ MORE

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Stopping the Spill of Government Secrets

With two presidents and a vice president under scrutiny for mishandling classified documents, some observers might push to strengthen protections for our nation’s secrets. But that is exactly what we shouldn’t do. Instead, Elizabeth Goitein argues, we must tackle overclassification — an issue that virtually guarantees routine security lapses and hampers democratic debate. “To better safeguard sensitive information, we must stop trying to safeguard information that isn’t sensitive,” she writes. READ MORE

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Shining a Light on Social Media Surveillance

Meta is suing Voyager Labs for using fake Facebook accounts to scrape data from thousands of users. What’s especially concerning is that the company markets itself to police with claims that it can identify potential criminals based on social media activity. “In light of repeated reports of police turning to online monitoring to target people of color and First Amendment–protected activities, the accusations against Voyager are a reminder that when law enforcement employs tools to facilitate unbridled social media surveillance, civil rights and civil liberties are at risk,” Rachel Levinson-Waldman and Gabriella Sanchez write. READ MORE

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A Decades-Long Fight for Public Education

Twenty-five years after the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that its state constitution guarantees a right to a “sound basic education,” the court is ordering the state to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to public schools. But this long-delayed victory for students might not last under the high court’s new conservative majority. If the court does reverse course, “the case will serve as an important reminder of both the powerful potential of state constitutions to enforce rights like education and the barriers litigants face in realizing that potential,” Michael Milov-Cordoba writes for the Brennan Center’s State Court Report. Read more

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Coming Up

IN-PERSON EVENT — Saying It Loud: In Conversation with Mark Whitaker and Eugene Robinson

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Wednesday, February 22, 6:30–7:30 p.m.

New York



Five decades ago, the words “Black Power” transformed the civil rights movement, ushering out the nonviolent philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis and heralding the turbulent year of 1966. Join us for an in-person event with journalist and author Mark Whitaker and Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist Eugene Robinson as Whitaker walks us through his new book, Saying It Loud: 1966—The Year Black Power Challenged the Civil Rights Movement

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, and tells the story of that groundbreaking year. RSVP TODAY

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Produced in partnership with the NYU Law Black Allied Law Students Association. This event will comply with NYU’s Covid-19 safety precautions

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Want to keep up with Brennan Center Live events? Subscribe to the events newsletter.

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News

Ethan Herenstein on the consequences of adopting the “independent state legislature theory” // NPR

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Ian Vandewalker on the rise of out-of-district and out-of-state campaign fundraising // MICHIGAN LIVE

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Dan Weiner on George Santos’s amended campaign finance filings // WASHINGTON POST

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Joanna Zdanys on the impact of Citizens United on money in politics // NEWSDAY

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