Woodrf all that and more on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by life isnt a straight line, and sometimes yocan find yourself heading in a new irection. Fidelitys here to help you work through the unexpected, with Financial Planning and advice for today, and tomorrow. The william and flora hewlett foundation. Ha for more50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. At www. Hewlett. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutis and individuals. This program was made by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff the nation echoes again tonight with protests over Police Violence against black americans. And, there are mounting calls for wholesale changes in policing. All of this comes amid final farewells for the man whoseat galvanized a movement. White house correspondent coverage. Lcindor begins our alcindor lines ole snaked around houstons fountain of praise church, as family, friends, and strangers paid their final respects to george floyd. Separately, the Presumptive Democratic president ial nominee joe biden and his wife jill met privately with floyds family. Meanwhile, in minnaupolis, derek n, the nowfired Police Officer who pinned floyd to the ground with a knee on his ck, and his first court appearance. He faces an upgraded charge of seconddegree rder. Floyds death two weeks agoke has spnationwide and now global protests against Police Brutality and systemic racism. In the u. S. , massive peaceful protests continue across the country, from small towns and suburbs to thousands in large cities like los angeles, wre an estimated 20,000 people came out on sunday. La prosecutedders announce thed would not charge thousands of protestors arrested for curfew and other vilations. And in washington on sunday republican senator mitt romney of utah marched with protestors near e white hose. Today in washington. Today, in washingt the world is witnessing the birth of a new movement in our country. Alcindor . Congressional democrats introduced a sweeping set of policing reforms in response to floyds deat and protestemands. In the justicolicing act bans chokeholds; develops a National Standard for use of force; limits the transfer of military weapons to Police Departments; lfines lynching as a fede hate crime; establishes a National Police misconduct registry; and, limits qualified immunity, which protec officers from lawsuits over alleged misconduct. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of new york is among those leading the push. All weve ever wanted is to be treatedqually. Not better, not worse. Equally. Why has that been so difficult to achieve . Thats all weve ever wanted. World is they they led a round table with Law Enforcement officials. He and his campaign have attacked democrats including Vice President biden for wanting to quote defund the police. There wont be defunding. There wont be dismantng of our police. There is not going to be any disbanding of our police. Our police have been letting us live in peace. Today bidens campaign pushed campaign pushed ba said he does not believe the police should be defunded. In minneapolis, nine of the 13 City Council Members have called for dismantling the Police Department and replacing it with a new Public Safety system. Other prosals, backed by ogressive activists and a few elected officials do not call for Police Departments to be fully abolished. Instead they push state and relocal governments to dece police budgets, while increasing spending on things like education and housing. E now outse white house people have gathered to protest for yet another day. Theyve been doing this fomore than a ek. They tell me that they are going to continue to peacefully gathem here untilrica confronts in a meaningful way the devastating and often deadly impact of racism, judy. Woodruff woodruff in the days other news, new york city began a gradual reopening for up to pandemic restrictions. Months of at its peak, in april, the disease kill more than 500 people a day in new york. The number now is in the single gits. Meanwhile, in geneva, the worldz health orgion warned that, globally, the pandemic is still getting worse. I know many of us would like this to be over, and i know many situations are seeing positive signs, but it is far from over. And we need to shorer activities, we need to build up the activities and infrastructure that is not in place in many countries and coninues to not be in place many countries. Ewhere, indiae began reopening malls, hotelses and plf worship, despite reporting nearly 10,000 new cases of covid19. But, new zealand announced ithe has eradicatedirus. Wall streets lly started its fourth week today, on optimism that the worst of the pandemic recession is over. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 461 points to cse at 27,572. The nasdaq rose 110 points, and, the s p 500 added 38. In paris, work began today to clear 200 tons of melted scaffolding atop notre dame cathedral. It had been installed for renovations before last years disastrous fire. Crews were lowered into the wreckage today. They will work through the summer and dismantle 40,000 pieces of charred, twisted metal. L and, a tropiorm that came ashore sunday along the u. S. Gulf coast has weakened to a depression, dumping rain as it goes. Flooding paralyzedarts of mandeville, louisiana today. Mm ities near new orleans were also inundated, along with the region around passn, chriississippi. Still to come on the newshour Defunding Police a major tfort to reallocate fundi vest in communities. We discuss the massive protel s and potentforms with senator cory booke despite the risks of covid 19, the Postal Service and delivery critical duties. To carry out and much more. Woodruff as weve seen inpo minns, theres a shift underway in some places on when it comes to reforming police practices. Namely, some are arguing reform does not work. Thats behind the idea of defunding the police. It includes a range of views. That can mean shifting money and dgets to other social Services Agencies that might be better equipped to handle i assigned to the police. Om in se cases, people are calling for outright abolition of Police Departments. Were gointo spend some time looking at what these changes could mean. Charlene carruthers is an thganizer with movement for black lives and of unapologetic a black, queeran feminist mandate for radical k vements. And chxler is the executive director of the police executivresearch forum, an organization of Law Enforcement officials. T and welco both of you to the newshour, thank you for being here. Charlene rruthers, to you first, what is it that you would like to see happento Police Departments across this country . How should they operate. En so fundlly the problem that people are rising up ross the country right now is the issue of how much our Police Departments are invested in and how much our communities are not invest in. So what i would like to see happen in a city like chicago where i currently live, is that our over 1. 7 llion budget which amounts to just under 5 Million Dollars a day be greatly reallocated and invested in our community and our pubc education and our health care and quality public housing, jobs and our environment. And frankly thats not happening. What we are seeing with Police Departments is surveillance, violence, and the death of our people. And that simply must change. And we know that bandaid Reform Solutions arent effugh. Woodso to clarify, what would the role of police be. D you would leave some money for Police Working on crime that is committed, right . Well, i understand that the process o living in a society where safety exists beyond policing will take r y it will take time, it wont happen overnight. So what i would like to see our local goernments andlso local Police Departments commit to a process in whch we move essential Safety Services from the power and control of Police Departments into our community. That means crisis response, and that also means with how we deal th violence,onflict and harm it means that actually, eventuale police are not the people who intervene or show up in instances of crisis, conflict, harm or violence but, am fact, it is a communitybased response that is outside of systems of poling, prisons and jail. Woodruff chuck wexler, what about this concept of shiftinghese kinds of responsibilities, at least initially, for issues that around situations around Mental Health counseling, dru counseling, immediate yaition, that mediation, that money be shifted to other social Service Agencies. Well, actually, i agree with a lot of what miss carruthers said in terms of, this is a joint responsibility with the community. Mental health, homeless, dealing with t opioid issue, this cant be done with the police alone. We need the community. And i agree witr about investment in those institutioge. We need t kids to have jobs. We need to beorkingin community policing. We need to be doing problem resolving. So ts not really much which i disagree with miss carruthers. Except for the fact that at the very moment that we have a spotlight on police, that is the at how take a hard look they do their job. But we need the police, weed smart police, so i dont disagree with mis carthers said about the need to help prevent crime. We need community peopl ive worked in chicago. I know the crisis of people that work, and they prevent Gang Violence those people in chicago are gang interrupters that precevent viol we need them. But here is where we are today. We had a huge incidenin minneapolis it is a de fining chment for this country. But we have someces. Do we walk away from the police or do we say hey, you know what, we tried to change the police. But we, this was an eye opener. What happened in minnwaeapoli a total police failure. But there are some good cops out there. And when you are in crisis we need a good cop. We cant just walk away from police. Now is the time to t into policing, to do problem solving, to work with the community, tor be bett what we do. Ru charlene caers, in your view, is this a choice between reforming policing further, we know some reforms are clearlyal ady instituted it is it a choice between reforming policing and jus with policing or how do you see it . So actually mr. Wechsler and i havn fudamental disagreements. I actually do not believe that we agree about the role of the police. I do not believe that we should have a partnership betweenth community an police in order to deal with conflict, harm and violence in our community. What that power, those decisions and that rolln icluding the money needs to actually be completely shifted. And not just social Service Agencies because we also know and understand that many social Service Agencies act in proxy to ehe Police Department across th country. And what were seeing in of a few bad apples. Imply a case in reality, we know that the t entie is rotten. It has been rotten since policing was even developed in this country. We know its origins as serving as slave catchers foreign slaved africans. We know how police played a role, a major role in ji crow. We know how Police Continue to play a role in the mass incar raise of black incarceration of blacks ande, brown peowhat we are talking about a radically ifting and transforming the world that we live in. We know that defunding the police is one p, but one essential step. Because power, how it works in this world is to organize resources, meaning money, and organize people. And so were going towards the source of what we know the government understands, corporationsunderstand,and Police Unions understand. Is that were coming to say we want power shifted into our community. Woodruff and in essence chuck wexler what i hear miss s carrutheing is that police as an institution doesnt work any more. Well, you know, maybe if i was in her shoes i might fee the same way. Ti dont take away anything she says. E has lived thi i havent. But heres what i know at the end of the day, there are 18,000 Police Departments in this country. 90 of us, 25 officers are left we have no gaid line on use of force. We put out guide les one of force six years ago and we believe in the sank tit of huan life. We believe in the duty to intervene, rendering first aid. We need humane police, we dont bhave a plan. If you said in minneapolis were going to des band the police,oe whatthat mean. Swub needs to respond to someone when they are in crisis. If you need a policficer and are you in crisis, there is absolutely Nothing Better than a good cop and absolutely nothing worse nan a bad cop. We need police in society. But we need humane police, weo need goodlice, we need to be working with groups like yours in chi cli. Ot we cano this alone. We cannot change police. We need the community with us. This was a de fining moment in minneapolis butets use thi moment to change an institution yoknow, Society Needs police. We need humane police. Be werer than what happened in minneapolis. Woouff miss carrhers, what about his point that as a country, as a ciety we need police in crisis situations. Shi live one south side of chicago. And every single day my community is sur vailed by the chico Police Department. We put literally well over a billion dollars into the chicago Police Department every single day. At the same time we see story after storaof violence this happening in our community. The police are not keeping us safe. Any semblance of safety that we have comes from within our community. We know things like good jobs, good education, go health care, Mental Health crisis actue ly reduces violeat happens in our communities. And to mr. Wechslers point, about who dnto we o respond in crisis, imagine that you are being assaulted by your partner or are you in the a middle Mental Health crisis and instead of a person showing up with gu and a taser and an entire Police Department behind them, it is a social service worker. It is a Mental Health crisis worker, it is a second all assault crisis Sexual Assault countries is resnder. Our Chicago Public schools have more cops than we have counselors. What i am resaying s something that some neighborhoods an communities already know. We know wealthy communiti and White Communities know what it is like to actually have resources insmotead of havinge cops. And thats what were talking about here. s not a vision that is unattainable. It is a vision that invites more woodruff chuck wexler,. Final word, is that something that is workable . I think that is workable. I think teaming up, men Mental Health workers with the police can be absolutely workable. Dont feel like we have a monopoly on Mental Health issues, be drug issues, on people in crisis. But heres the reality. It is 3 00 in the mor. Ni are those other social Service Agencies willing to step up if they are, me join us, we needll the help we can get. Woodruff well, we certainly hear you both it is ao conversatigoing for sometime to come. Chuck wexler, charlene carruthers, we thank you both. Thank you. Uf woo while defund the police has become a rallying cry foblack lives matter thousands of proteacrosse the country, democrats in congress are considering a different set of proposals. Amna nawaz has more on that. Nawaz thats right, judy. St and oday, the new jersey state attorney general released video of the Fatal Shooting of an unarmed black manice gordon, by a white state trooper last month. It happened just two days before the killing of george floyd in minneapolis. In congress, more than 200 house and Senate Democrats have signed onto the justice in policing act. As we laid out earli in the program, it would, among other things ban chokeholds. End noknock warrants in drug cases. Mandate Police Training on racial bias. And collect data at the federal level on the use of force. One of the bills sponsors isco senato booker of new jersey, and he joins me now. Welcome back to the newshour, lets talk about this legislation now becauseme there are lements in here that have been on the table fore, efforts to stop militarization of police, to end racial profiling. Neither of those bills came to a vote under pressure from policea uniod others. So what is different about the proposals now other than the momes in which they are bing brought forward . Well, i think first of all the moment is the message that we have today. There has been no great bills of social change in this country from workers rights to civil rights, lgbtq rights, that hasnt had large