Tim Scott: Police ‘need more resources, not less resources’ to compel reform

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said Sunday that police “need more resources, not less resources” to compel reform within their departments after the death of George Floyd sparked calls for change across the country.

The senator, who led the efforts to draft the Republicans’ police reform bill, told ABC’s “This Week” that he believes more resources and increased penalties for falsifying police reports can help prevent deaths.    

“We believe that you actually need more resources, not less resources,” he said. “If you want officers to be trained effectively, you have to give them the tools called training to get there. That requires more resources.”

Scott advocated the use of federal funds to influence local law enforcement behavior to “compel them towards the direction that we think is in the best interest of the nation.” 

…

Scott, the Senate’s only Black Republican, helped develop the GOP’s police reform bill in the upper chamber, which, unlike the House bill, would not ban chokeholds outright. Instead, law enforcement agencies would be unable to obtain federal grants if chokeholds remained permitted. 

Full article here.