Former Officer Condemns Police Killing of George Floyd; ’Justice in Policing Act’ Explained

Leslie begins the show with her 'Ripped from the Headlines' news segment.

Here are the stories she covers during the segment:

1. AUDIO: One of George Floyd's Brothers, Philonise Floyd, Remembers His Brother at this week's Public Memorial Service

2. WASHINGTON POST: "In Georgia, primary day starts with long lines, problems with voting machines — a potential preview of November"

Leslie is then joined by Michael Mendelsohn, a Retired Law Enforcement Officer from Charlotte County Sheriff's Office in Florida.

Retired Officer Mendelsohn believes that former Minnesota Police Officer, Derek Chauvin, who is now charged with second-degree murder, was wrong for how he physically handled George Floyd during the arrest, which led to Mr. Floyd dying. Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, all while Floyd was saying "I Can't Breathe," and pleading for his life, while two other Officers leaned on Floyd's body, and a fourth Officer told concerned bystanders to keep their distance.

Leslie is next joined by Connor Maxwell, a senior policy analyst for Race and Ethnicity Policy at the Center for American Progress. His work focuses on criminal justice, racial justice, diversity, and inclusion issues. His Twitter handle is @Connor__Maxwell, and the handle for the Race and Ethnicity policy team of the Center for American Progress is @CAPTalksRace.

Leslie and Connor analyze the new policing reform bill released by Congressional Democrats on Monday, which is called "The Justice in Policing Act of 2020."

Here are some of the key parts of the bill:

- Revising federal law on criminal police misconduct and qualified immunity reform
- Ban no-knock warrants in drug cases at the federal level
- Ban chokeholds at the federal level
- Establish a national registry of misconduct by law enforcement officers
- Require states to report use of force to the Justice Department
- Mandate racial bias training at the federal level
- Require that deadly force only be used as last resort
- Make lynching a federal crime
- Require police to use more body and dashboard cameras
- Limit the transfer of military equipment to local police departments
(more info on the bill can be found here: https://www.vox.com/2020/6/8/21283841/democrats-police-reform-bill-explained-george-floyd)

Leslie and Connor also briefly touch on the semantics surrounding the #DefundPolice movement, which does not mean what many people think it means.