Bipartisan Police Reform Negotiations Collapse

Lawmakers have failed to strike a bipartisan police reform deal after months of negotiations in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others. In a statement Wednesday, President Joe Biden said he still hopes to pass a "comprehensive and meaningful police reform bill" and chastised Republicans for purportedly rejecting "modest reforms, which even the previous president had supported." Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), a lead negotiator, said his Democratic "negotiating partners walked away from the table." A key point of disagreement was on reforming qualified immunity, which protects individual police officers from civil liability for misconduct. Democrats and Republicans seemed aligned on other details, including banning chokeholds, boosting funds for mental health resources and cutting off the transfer of military equipment to police. The future of bipartisan police reform legislation is now unclear.

Left-rated sources often framed Republican stubbornness as the reason for the talks failing; some highlighted how Democrats still plan to try to advance police reform legislation. Reports from right-rated outlets often painted Democrats as to blame for the failed negotiations, with some accusing them of an unwillingness to compromise. Others framed the "Defund the Police" movement as having hurt efforts to pass bipartisan legislation.