Texas Lawmakers Call for Action after Police Shoot and Kill an Unarmed Teen – Part 2
On Saturday, April 29, 2017, in the Dallas, Texas, area, 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, an African-American, was allegedly shot and killed by a police officer. The Balch Springs, Texas, teen was unarmed and in a car full of unarmed teenagers when the deadly shot occurred. Some Texas lawmakers are discussing whether a legislative solution is needed, with regard to police shootings. Democrat State Rep. Eric Johnson, on the other hand, has proposed that House Bill 245, which has not been scheduled for consideration, could help to prove that there is a problem with unarmed black people disproportionately being killed during encounters with police.
The bill Johnson is pushing would mandate that law enforcement agencies failing to report officer-involved shootings would be punished. A bill has already passed that requires basic information about every police shooting to be sent to the Attorney General’s Office, and it applies to all Texas law enforcement agencies. Johnson has conceded that almost all agencies have been complying with this requirement, but he wants to punish those that don’t.
Johnson’s purpose is to use accurate data to demonstrate whether or not there actually is a specific problem of racial profiling by police.
Democrat State Rep. Garnet Coleman, in response to Edwards’ death, suggested that House Bill 2702, referred to as the “Sandra Bland Act,” should be passed. It would require police officers to be trained regarding implicit bias and de-escalation tactics.
See Part 1 of this two-part series.
–Guest Contributor
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