0:00

After Memphis police officers fatally

0:02

beat Tyria Nichols last month,

0:04

lawmakers are again calling for

0:07

police reform. I say again, because

0:09

we are now accustomed to a cycle, deadly

0:11

police violence, being met with calls for

0:13

congressional action, calls that

0:15

go nowhere. Yesterday, the congressional

0:18

black caucus met with president

0:20

Biden and vice president Harris to

0:22

talk about how to make police reform happen

0:25

Democratic congressman Steven Horsford

0:27

is the chair of the block caucus and

0:29

was in that

0:30

meeting. He joins me now in congressmen. Welcome.

0:33

Thank you so much for having me.

0:35

Did you leave that meeting at the White House more hopeful

0:37

than when you walked in? Absolutely.

0:41

I remain hopeful because

0:45

the lives of the people who

0:47

have been lost because

0:50

of bad policing just

0:52

cannot continue. I want to thank President

0:55

Biden and Vice President Harris

0:57

for accepting the meeting and

0:59

making it a priority and my

1:02

colleagues for joining so that we could

1:04

have a meaningful conversation and

1:07

come out in agreement for

1:10

meaningful action that

1:12

will happen over the

1:16

You call it a meaningful conversation. Can

1:18

you share whether you got anything of

1:20

substance? Well,

1:23

first, what was most important was

1:25

for us to talk about who

1:28

Tyree Nichols is and, you know, the vice

1:30

president attended his funeral. The

1:33

president spoke to the family. I had an opportunity

1:35

to speak to the family. And and it's important

1:37

before I talk about anything about legislation.

1:40

I talk about the people who are impacted by

1:43

the pain of what's happening around

1:45

police brutality. Tyria Nichols

1:47

was a twenty nine year old young

1:50

man who was a son and

1:52

a father who had potential and

1:54

purpose and a whole life ahead

1:56

of him. loved

2:00

skateboarding and had a passion for

2:02

sunsets and photography.

2:05

In fact, he had just left taking

2:08

photography of a sunset when he was on

2:10

his way to his mother's house

2:12

when he was pulled over removed

2:15

from his car, taken,

2:17

tased and beaten, and

2:20

ended up days later, dead.

2:22

That is why the congressional Black

2:25

caucus both pushed for

2:27

the meeting with the president as well

2:29

as will work tirelessly

2:32

with anyone and everyone to

2:34

make sure that we get meaningful reforms

2:37

passed Well, I also I so appreciate

2:39

your focusing on on the on the

2:41

the human being at the center of this because it's

2:43

so important. I

2:46

do wanna focus on what meaningful

2:48

reform would look like and and

2:50

on what the White House can actually do. I

2:52

know the White House after the meeting said president,

2:55

the vice president, they are committed to doing everything

2:57

in their power on this. But ultimately,

2:59

it's not really in their power. It's

3:01

congress that has to move on this. Do

3:03

you see limits to what the president can

3:05

do? Well,

3:08

it is true that Congress has to act, and

3:10

I want to thank the president for what he

3:12

did do and enacting the executive

3:14

order last May around substantive

3:17

police reforms to

3:19

federal law enforcement agencies that he has

3:21

the authority to enact by

3:23

executive order. But

3:26

just like we did with the bipartisan SAFR

3:29

Communities Law, the most comprehensive gun

3:31

safety bill in thirty years just like

3:33

the President did with the bipartisan infrastructure

3:36

and investment law that's producing

3:38

jobs and investment. We

3:41

need the president to use the power

3:43

of the presidency and his relationships

3:46

to help us bring Republicans to

3:49

the table to act Why?

3:51

Because public safety is important to

3:53

everyone, this is not a partisan

3:55

issue. We recognize we

3:57

need Republican support for meaningful

4:00

reforms. And we should all agree

4:02

that bad policing shouldn't exist

4:04

anywhere in America and so we should

4:07

all work towards ending it.

4:08

Just briefly, congressman, we got about

4:10

thirty seconds left. Is there one

4:12

specific piece that you would like to

4:14

see accomplished that you think reasonably can

4:17

be with a Republican controlled house

4:19

in the coming

4:20

months? Well, it's gonna

4:22

take more than just one action. What

4:24

we need is the tenets

4:26

of the George Floyd Justice and

4:28

Policing Act. That is

4:30

about transparency, accountability

4:34

and professional standards. We

4:36

respect law enforcement and the role

4:38

they play. And we believe that we can

4:40

both support law enforcement while

4:42

pushing for an improvement in

4:44

the culture of policing to keep all

4:46

of our communities safer.

4:48

Is Democratic congressman Steven Horsford,

4:51

Chair of the Black caucus. Thank you so much for your

4:53

time today, sir.

4:55

Thank you.