乔·拜登总统和副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯周四会见了国会黑人议员团成员，讨论推动美国的警务改革提尔·尼科尔斯死后。
当这群人聚集在椭圆形办公室时，拜登说，他希望尼科尔斯之死的“黑暗记忆”能够“激励一些我们一直在为之奋斗的行动。”
“我们必须坚持下去，只要需要，”总统说。
与会者包括CBC主席、众议员史蒂文·霍斯福德、参议员科里·布克、参议员拉斐尔·沃诺克、众议员詹姆斯·克莱伯恩、众议员希拉·李庚翔和众议员乔·内格斯——都是民主党人。
CBC成员在与拜登和哈里斯会面后表示，他们正在“探索所有选项”来进行警察改革。
霍斯福德说，“立法、行政和基于社区的解决方案”都在考虑之中，但该组织不愿透露他们是否从共和党人那里听到了任何消息。
当被问及他们是否可以给preview一个前进的道路时，霍斯福德说，“当我们与参议院和众议院两党的同事合作时”，更多的细节将出现在立法方案中
沃诺克说，“很高兴有机会与拜登谈论这些问题”，总统“理解我们今后必须做的工作。”
白宫在一份声明中说，总统和副总统会晤“讨论了共同的优先事项，包括乔治·弗洛伊德的《警务正义法》和国会警察改革的前进道路。”
白宫表示，拜登和哈里斯“明确表示，任何行政行动都不能取代联邦立法”。
在尼科尔斯和孟菲斯警方发生致命冲突后的几周里，要求采取立法行动的呼声越来越高。1月7日冲突的图形镜头显示，警察在一次交通拦截后殴打和踢打尼科尔斯。三天后他去世了。根据家人委托进行的初步独立尸检，他遭受了“严重殴打造成的大出血”
尼科尔斯的父母，律师本·克伦普和牧师阿尔·夏普顿都推动了乔治·弗洛伊德治安法的通过在尼科尔斯的葬礼上发表讲话星期三。哈里斯也要求国会通过这项立法，称其为“不可谈判的”。
“Tyree Nichols的死是我们为什么需要行动的又一个例子，”Horsford在周四与总统和副总统的会议上说。
“我们需要你们的帮助，以确保我们能够采取必要的立法行动来拯救生命，并使公共安全成为所有社区的优先事项，”他告诉他们。
该小组没有详细说明他们计划在闭门会议中讨论的任何具体政策。
但是在现在分裂的国会中，任何警务改革都面临着一场艰难的战斗。
美国广播公司新闻的贾斯汀·戈麦斯在拜登与加拿大广播公司会面之前，就本届国会是否可能进行警察改革向他施压。
“我希望如此，”拜登说，他举起双手，交叉手指。
在周四的党团会议和拜登之间的会议之前，南卡罗来纳州共和党参议员蒂姆·斯科特(Tim Scott)对利用乔治·弗洛伊德(George Floyd)的《治安正义法案》(Justice in Policing Act)作为谈判起点的想法泼了冷水。
斯科特在推特上写道:“重新启动众议院进步党的警察改革法案是不可能的。”
该立法于2021年在民主党控制的众议院获得通过，但在参议院陷入僵局，主要是在军官的合格豁免权问题上陷入僵局。
斯科特近年来一直处于参议院警察改革谈判的中心，他在2021年与布克合作，试图在这个问题上达成协议。他对任何警务改革法案的认可对于在参议院获得必要的共和党支持可能是至关重要的。
“我一直在努力寻找实际上有机会通过的共同基础解决方案，”他在推特上说。“增加资金和培训的解决方案，以确保只有最优秀的人才能佩戴徽章。在孟菲斯这样的地方会有所不同的解决方案&基诺沙。事实是:我们可以做一些有意义的事情。我们可以通过一项大多数国会议员和大多数美国人都会同意的法案。"
众议院民主党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯(Hakeem Jeffries)在周四的每周新闻发布会上告诉记者，他在白宫举行会议之前与CBC领导人进行了交谈。
杰弗里斯拒绝透露民主党人将在何时提出一项警务法案，称他不会提前开会。
杰弗里斯说:“我们确实需要进行一次真实、真诚、可信的两党对话，讨论如何处理美国的警察改革，并找出如何加强警察与社区之间的关系。”
'Need action': Biden meets with Congressional Black Caucus on policing after Tyre Nichols' death
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met Thursday with members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to discuss pushing policing reform in the wake of the death of Tyre Nichols.
As the group gathered in the Oval Office, Biden said it was his hope that the "dark memory" of Nichols' death "spurs some action that we've all been fighting for."
"We got to stay at it, as long as it takes," the president said.
Attendees included the CBC chair, Rep. Steven Horsford, Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Raphael Warnock, Rep. James Clyburn, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Rep. Joe Neguse -- all Democrats.
CBC members emerged from their meeting with Biden and Harris saying they were "exploring all options" when it comes to police reform.
Horsford said "legislative, executive, and community-based solutions" were all under consideration, but the group wouldn't say if they've heard anything from Republicans.
Asked if they could give preview a path forward, Horsford said that more details would come on a legislative package "as we work with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle in both the Senate and House."
Warnock said "it was good to have an opportunity to talk" to Biden about these issues and that the president "understands the work that we've got to do going forward."
The White House said in a statement that the president and vice president met to "discuss shared priorities, including the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the path forward on police reform in Congress."
Biden and Harris "made clear that no executive action can substitute for federal legislation," the White House said.
Calls for legislative action have grown in the weeks following the fatal encounter between Nichols and Memphis police. Graphic footage of the Jan. 7 confrontation showed officers striking and kicking Nichols after a traffic stop. He died three days later. According to a preliminary independent autopsy commissioned by the family, he suffered from "extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating."
Nichols' parents, attorney Ben Crump and Rev. Al Sharpton all pushed for the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as they delivered remarks at Nichols' funeral on Wednesday. Harris, too, demanded Congress pass the legislation, calling it "nonnegotiable."
"The death of Tyree Nichols is yet another example of why we do need action," Horsford said as the caucus sat down with the president and vice president on Thursday.
"We need your help to make sure we can get the legislative actions that are necessary to save lives and to make public safety the priority that it needs to be for all communities," he told them.
The group did not elaborate on any specific policies they planned to discuss as they entered the otherwise closed-door meeting.
But any policing reform faces an uphill battle in the now-divided Congress.
"I hope so," Biden said as he held up his hands and crossed his fingers.
In advance of Thursday's meeting between the caucus and Biden, South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott poured cold water on the idea of using the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as a starting point in negotiations.
"Resurrecting the House progressives' police reform bill is a non-starter," Scott wrote in a Twitter thread.
The legislation passed the Democratic-controlled House in 2021 but stalled in the Senate, with an impasse primarily over the issue of qualified immunity for officers.
Scott has been at the center of police reform negotiations in the Senate in recent years, and he worked with Booker in 2021 to try to get a deal on the issue. His sign of approval for any policing reform bill would likely be essential in garnering the necessary Republican support in the Senate.
"I've been working toward common ground solutions that actually have a shot at passing," he tweeted. "Solutions to increase funding and training to make sure only the best wear the badge. Solutions that would have made a difference in places like Memphis & Kenosha.Here's the truth: We can get something meaningful done. We can pass a bill that the majority of Congress--and the majority of Americans--would agree on."
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters at his weekly press conference Thursday he'd spoken to CBC leaders ahead of their meeting at the White House.
Jeffries declined to say when exactly Democrats would put forward a policing bill, saying he wouldn't get ahead of the meeting.
"We do need to have a real, genuine, authentic, and bipartisan conversation about dealing with police reform in America, and figuring out how do we strengthen the relationship between the police and the community," Jeffries said.
