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Many news outlets have reported that senior White House officials spoke with families of African Americans slain by police. Those families include representatives for the family of George Floyd. A White House official also said the focus of the discussion was to collect their input and priorities on executive actions the administration could take on police reform. Point to be noted that the House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in March 2021 but congressional negotiations on bipartisan legislation broke down in the Senate nearly a month ago. President Biden spoke with law enforcement members during the National Peace Officers Memorial Service at the Capitol. He said, “We haven’t gotten there yet but we must get there”. Dr. Tiffany Crutcher’s twin brother Terence was shot and killed by Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby in 2016.

Crutcher and her father were among the families who participated in the virtual session, which included White House senior advisers Cedric Richmond and Susan Rice. She said, “I was just a bit numb. I told them I really didn’t want to be on another call and that my family is deeply disappointed that this administration and Congress could not get this done. And we are tired. All of these families, we are tired of coming to calls like these and sharing our stories over and over again”. Crutcher said she and the other families didn’t hold back on their frustrations during the nearly 2-hour meeting. She said, “They just said it was unacceptable and inexcusable. That was the tone and the common thread for all of the families”. Crutcher said relatives of Eric Garner, Botham Jean, and Atatiana Jefferson were among those on the call.

Crutcher said the group proposed various recommendations to the White House, including making investigations into lethal force independent. A White House official said Biden is committed to taking additional action and will continue to consult with stakeholders, including the victims’ families, the civil rights community, and law enforcement groups. However, Police reform collapsed in late September after Senator Cory Booker called off talks with his GOP counterpart Senator Tim Scott. Democratic Congresswoman Karen Bass was also a lead negotiator. Booker said, “We weren’t making progress, any more meaningful progress on establishing really substantive reform. We came to a stalemate when we couldn’t embody Donald Trump’s EO in legislation, as is. That’s problematic for me”. Scott said he agreed with the executive order but disagreed with cuts for non-compliance arguing many of the bill’s proposed elements would defund the police.