Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said on Sunday that the time was “probably” right to look closely at police reform after a national protest that erupted over the death of George Floyd.
“We need to look at the right reforms and this might be the right time to highlight and finish them,” Carson told “Fox News Sunday.” “I think that is one of the things the president has explained. This is a problem, it will be seen, it will be dealt with.”
But he will not say whether the president will support a proposal by Democrat House to ban chokehold, limit quality immunity for police officers and create a national database of violations.
“I expect the president and administration to engage the right stakeholders and to see everything,” Carson said. “Obviously we don’t want to create a situation where the police are under a microscope and they don’t want to do their work because they are afraid.”
“When people make decisions based on anger or emotion, they rarely make good decisions,” he added.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has assigned Senator Tim Scott, the only black GOP senator, to act as a point on the criminal justice reform package in the assembly.
But Scott, from South Carolina, said limiting the immunity that qualifies for officers who would subject them to legal and civil action is not the beginning.
“From the perspective of the Republican Party, and the president has sent a signal that quality immunity is not taken into account. They see it as a poison pill on our side,” he said said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” “We can use desertification of officers, unless law enforcement unions say it is a poison pill.”
