CNN Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju shared a copy of Philonise’s opening remarks to Twitter on Wednesday.
“I couldn’t take care of George the day he was killed, but maybe by speaking with you today, I can help make sure that his death isn’t in vain,” it reads. “The people elected you to speak for them, to make positive change. George’s name means something You have the opportunity here to make your names mean something, too. If his death ends up changing the world for the better. And I think it will. I think it has. Then he died as he lived. It is on you to make sure his death isn’t in vain.”
Philonise’s congressional testimony follows a memorial service held in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday to honor his late brother, who died in custody of Minneapolis police officers on May 25. Bystander videos shared online showed officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes as he struggled to breathe.
All four officers that responded to the call were fired from the Minneapolis Police Department and later criminally indicted, with Chauvin facing second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Prosecutors charged the others, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Keung, with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.
Floyd’s death sparked global action, prompting demonstrators across the world to gather in protest of systemic abuse and racism by law enforcement authorities. Their demands for justice—for Floyd and others, including Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT who was fatally shot by police in Louisville, Kentucky, after officers entered her apartment on a no-knock search warrant—have incited a widespread push for legislation reforming police practices. Since the start of June, United States lawmakers have begun introducing bills that aim to accomplish that.
Wednesday’s hearing discussed The Justice in Policing Act, a bill first announced by Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass, Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, as well as House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler on Monday. The reform bill aims to prohibit law enforcement’s use of chokeholds, no-knock search warrants, racial or otherwise discriminatory profiling by local, state and federal authorities.
“Our hearts ache for the loss of George Floyd and Eric Garner. They ache for Breonna Taylor, for Amadou Diallo, for Tamir Rice, for LaQuan McDonald, for Freddie Gray, for Walter Scott, and for so many other victims of police violence in all parts of America,” said Chairman Nadler in his opening statements on Wednesday. “Their shocking deaths sparked momentary outrage, but no fundamental change. And for every incident of excessive force that makes headlines, the ugly truth is that there are countless others that we never hear about.”
The Justice in Policing Act is one of several proposals by U.S. lawmakers to advance police reform efforts. New York’s state legislature passed a number of related bills earlier this week, also banning law enforcement’s use of chokeholds, repealing a long-established statue that shields police personnel records from public view and ensuring individuals’ rights to receive medical attention while in custody. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he would sign all bills concerning police reform into law once passed by the state legislature.
