Psaki: Tlaib’s Call to End Policing Is ‘Not the President’s View’
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that President Biden does not agree with Representative Rashida Tlaib’s (D., Mich.) calls to end policing in the wake of Daunte Wright’s death.
Officers in a Minneapolis suburb pulled Wright over for a traffic violation on Sunday and tried to detain him after learning he had an outstanding warrant. He then reentered his car and an officer shot him.
Police Chief Tim Gannon of the Brooklyn Center Police Department described the shooting as “an accidental discharge.” Gannon said the officer, later identified as Kimberly Potter, a 26 year-veteran of the city force, had intended to discharge a Taser and instead fired a single shot at the man.
Tlaib claimed in a tweet that Wright’s death “wasn’t an accident,” as “policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist.”
“No more policing, incarceration, and militarization,” she added.
It wasn't an accident. Policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist.
Daunte Wright was met with aggression & violence. I am done with those who condone government funded murder.
No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can't be reformed.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) April 12, 2021
Meanwhile, Psaki said, “that’s not the president’s view.”
“The president’s view is that there are necessary outdated reforms that should be put in place, that there is accountability that needs to happen, that the loss of life is far too high, that these families are suffering around the country, that the black community is exhausted from the ongoing threats they feel,” she said.
She added that Biden believes legislation, specifically the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act “can put many of these necessary reforms in place.”
The president also feels that it is important for communities to rebuild trust “to get to a better place,” she said.
Similarly, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.,) responded to a question about Tlaib’s tweet by expressing support for reform and the George Floyd bill.
“Look, we all know we have to root out systemic bias in law enforcement and we feel the best way to do that is the Justice in Policing Act,” Schumer said.
The New York Democrat said he plans to put the bill on the Senate floor for a vote.
The fatal shooting comes amid the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer accused of killing Floyd during his arrest last May. Chauvin is seen in a video of the arrest kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes until he became unconscious.
