Congressional Black Caucus call for ban on police chokeholds, no-knock warrants

Joined by other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which bans police officers from using chokeholds and no-knock warrants. The bill has already passed the House.

"We are here today because people died and were denied civil and economic rights," Beatty said. "We are here today because George Floyd had a knee on his neck. Eight minutes, 46 seconds. Black lives matter."

She continued: "Silence is not an option because Black people face a symbolic chokehold every time we walk, speak up, shop, jog, drive and, yes, breathe."

Beatty went on to quote Martin Luther King Jr., restating: "In America, a riot is the language of an unheard people."

Before concluding her speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Beatty called on the crowd before her to "go vote, go vote, go vote, go vote. And, yes, I'm congresswoman Joyce Beatty, and I approve this message."

This article was originally published by The Washington Post on August 28, 2020.