White House putting national police oversight commission on hold

The White House has put plans to create a national police oversight commission on hold and will instead focus on police reform legislation, domestic policy adviser Susan Rice said.

“Based on close, respectful consultation with partners in the civil rights community, the administration made the considered judgment that a police commission, at this time, would not be the most effective way to deliver on our top priority in this area, which is to sign the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act into law,” Rice said in a statement to Politico.

Rice added the White House “is working with Congress to swiftly enact meaningful police reform that brings profound, urgently needed change.”

President Biden had committed to setting up a commission in June, shortly after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The White House consulted with both national civil rights organizations and police unions before deciding to not move forward with its plans to establish a commission, Politico noted.

“As the ongoing trial in the death of George Floyd makes clear, transforming policing in America is one of the most urgent crises facing the nation today,” Wade Henderson, president of the civil rights group Leadership Conference, told the news outlet. “We also agree with the White House decision to forgo the creation of a commission to study the problem.”

Some civil rights groups had expressed concerns that a police commission would be used as an excuse by senators to stall police reform bills passed by the House, according to Politico.