Federal Policing Reform Negotiations Collapse; No Legislation Enacted

Bipartisan negotiations on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act collapsed in September 2021 after months of talks between Senators Cory Booker, Karen Bass, and Tim Scott. The central sticking point was qualified immunity — the doctrine that shields officers from civil rights suits. Republicans refused to eliminate it; Democrats refused to retain it. No federal police reform legislation has been enacted as of 2024, despite the largest protest movement in American history in 2020. Over 200 pieces of state legislation passed in the year after Floyd's death, with varied impact. The federal failure left policing reform to fragmented state and local action.