(Washington) Joe Biden said Thursday he hoped the death of Tyre Nichols, a young African-American beaten up by officers, would prompt Congress to act to reform the functioning of the police, asking black elected officials to “continue” their efforts in this direction.
The meeting at the White House between the Democratic president and members of the Congressional group bringing together elected African-Americans took place the day after the funeral of Tire Nichols, who died in Memphis on January 10 after being beaten relentlessly by police. black.
His death, and the unbearable images of the arrest, shocked America, provoking a new denunciation of police violence.
“I hope this dark memory inspires decisions that we all fought for,” Joe Biden said.
“You must continue your efforts”, insisted the president with the elected officials, judging to have allowed “significant changes” via decrees even if his powers, in terms of the police, are very limited.
His Democratic camp tried to push through a series of police reforms, initiated after the death of George Floyd, but ran into Republican opposition in the Senate.
The murder of this black man in his forties, asphyxiated by a white police officer on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, had sparked a huge mobilization throughout the United States against racism and police violence.
The text provided for example to prohibit strangulation and attacked the broad legal immunity enjoyed by the agents.
After the meeting, House Representative Steven Horsford called the death of Tire Nichols the latest example of the problem of police brutality in the United States.
It “could happen to anyone,” he told reporters.
These black politicians expect Joe Biden to address the subject during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, a traditional address to Congress and a sizeable television audience.