Democratic Rep. James Clyburn rejected calls to defund the police that have grown since the death of George Floyd, but said law enforcement needs to be restructured.
“Nobody is going to defund the police,” Clyburn said Sunday on CNN‘s “State of the Union.” “We can restructure the police forces. Restructure, reimagine policing. That is what we are going to do.”
“The fact of the matter is that police have a role to play. What we’ve got to do is make sure that their role is one that meets the times, one that responds to these communities that they operate in,” the South Carolina congressman added.
Floyd’s death on May 25 in Minneapolis police custody sparked nationwide protests and calls to defund police agencies to reduce police brutality and reform criminal justice.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who has advocated for dismantling police departments, defended her position later on CNN.
“No one is saying crimes will not be investigated. No one is saying that we are not going to have proper response when community members are in danger,” said Omar, who represents Minneapolis and its suburbs.
“What we are saying is the current infrastructure that exists as policing in our city should not exist anymore. And we can’t go about creating a different process with the same infrastructure in place. And so dismantling it and then looking at what funding priorities should look like as we reimagine a new way forward is what needs to happen.”
Since Floyd’s death, House Democrats have been working to put together a package of proposals that would ban chokeholds, create a national database of police misconduct and limit qualified immunity for officers that shields them from legal action.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has named Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) to spearhead Republican efforts.