Joe Biden to host George Floyds family at White House

US President Joe Biden will host George Floyd’s family at the White House on Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of his death at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president would mark the anniversary of Mr Floyd’s death, but offered no further details on his plans.

Mr Floyd died on May 25 last year, after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes, while Mr Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe.

His death sparked months of nationwide protests focused on systemic racism and a renewed debate over police reform in the US.

Chauvin was convicted last month on multiple charges stemming from Mr Floyd’s death.

Mr Biden’s plans to host Mr Floyd’s family come as talks focused on the police reform bill named after Mr Floyd – the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act – have stalled on Capitol Hill.

The president had previously set the anniversary of Mr Floyd’s death as the deadline for the bill’s passage, and left much of the negotiations up to politicians on Capitol Hill, but there has been little movement on the legislation in recent weeks.

Ms Psaki said the White House is “in close touch” with the negotiators and “they still feel there’s progress being made”, but they have acknowledged it is “unlikely” they will pass a bill by Mr Biden’s deadline.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would ban chokeholds by federal officers and end qualified immunity for law enforcement against civil lawsuits, as well as create national standards for policing in a bid to bolster accountability.

It passed the House in March, but faces a much tougher road in the evenly-divided Senate, where Republicans have expressed opposition to efforts to repeal qualified immunity.

Published: 22/05/2021 by Radio NewsHub