Press Releases

Congresswoman Gwen Moore Introduces Legislation to Expand Police De-Escalation Training

Congresswoman Moore introduced the Preventing Tragedies Between Police and Communities Act and released the following statement: 

“Last year, the tragic death of George Floyd created a moment where Americans reached a tipping point and took to the streets to voice their calls for bold change. 

This moment also hit home for our city because Milwaukee knows these tragedies all too well: Dontre Hamilton, Sylville Smith, Ernest Lacy, and many others were taken from our community too soon. I understand the anxiety of worrying about your child’s safety because of the color of their skin. Black mothers and fathers have to conduct “the talk” with their sons because of this worry.  

Communities want to feel protected.  The trust between police officers and the residents they serve is a critically important part of that equation but is under siege in many communities, including right here in Milwaukee, whenever we see residents unjustly assaulted by those sworn to protect them. That’s why I have again reintroduced my legislation to expand de-escalation training, providing officers the tools to prevent situations from needlessly escalating. Sadly, the amount of time that we spend training our police officers on ways to effectively use the lowest level of force possible to safely respond to a perceived threat lags behind the time they spend learning how to use their weapon.  

My bill also incentivizes states and localities to implement policies that set affirmative duties for police officers to use non-lethal de-escalation tactics whenever possible. 

De-escalation training must be a part of our toolkit to create police reform that restores trust, saves lives, and truly makes our communities safer. We must respond to the injustices and the Americans who said, ‘enough is enough’ and sign my legislation into law now.”

The Preventing Tragedies Between Police and Communities Act is supported by Reps. Mike Doyle, Carolyn Maloney, Barbara Lee, Earl Blumenauer, Betty McCollum, Jimmy Panetta, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Theodore Deutch.