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*Here’s the bad news we feared we’d hear regarding the bipartisan talks aimed at overhauling police tactics and accountability.
The Wall Street Journal, quoting a top Democratic negotiator, says they have ended with no agreement with lawmakers unable to reach a compromise following nationwide protests sparked by the killings of Black Americans by law-enforcement officers.
The report says Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) said Wednesday that he called Sen. Tim Scott (R., S.C.) to tell him the Democrats were done negotiating after Scott didn’t accept their final offer.
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As was widely reported earlier this year, the negotiations were led by Booker and Scott as well as Rep. Karen Bass (D., Calif.). A previous effort to pass policing rules had ended in partisan acrimony before the 2020 election, but the trio had been optimistic they could come to a compromise this year by focusing on areas of agreement between the two parties.
As talks progressed, however, the lawmakers were unable to resolve differences over how police officers should be prosecuted and held liable, including whether to change or eliminate a legal doctrine known as qualified immunity that shields officers from lawsuits. Democrats favored more sweeping changes, while Republicans sought more incremental moves. Even the areas they broadly agreed on—such as limiting the transfer of military equipment to local departments and the use of no-knock warrants—ran into opposition when language was drafted, according to people familiar with the matter.
Get MORE of this story at the Wall Street Journal.
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