The toll of police brutality in America was on painful display Tuesday night as family members of Black men and women killed in custody sat alongside lawmakers in the House to hear the President Joe Biden's State of the Union address.
Mothers, fathers and loved ones of victims of police violence, including the parents of Tyre Nichols, were invited as guests of the Congressional Black Caucus and the first lady to put pressure on Washington to address the issue of policing.
"Our children have a right to come home safely,” Biden said after welcoming Nichols’ family.
A video released earlier this month showed the violent Jan. 7 encounter between Nichols and the Memphis, Tennessee, police officers who savagely beat the 29-year-old Black FedEx worker for three minutes while screaming profanities at him. Nichols was hospitalized and died days later. Five police officers, who also are Black, have been fired and charged with second-degree murder and two more have been disciplined.
"What happened to Tyre in Memphis happens too often. We have to do better. Give law enforcement the training they need, hold them to higher standards, and help them succeed in keeping everyone safe," Biden said in his address.
Also in attendance were the mother of Eric Garner and the brother of George Floyd, among others.
The visible reminder of police brutality comes against the backdrop of reignited negotiations among lawmakers to draft a modest proposal for police reform that could pass in a newly GOP-controlled House.
The talks last Congress focused on writing compromise legislation curbing law enforcement agencies’ use of force and making them more accountable for abuses. But negotiations stalled over Democrats’ demands to make individual police officers accused of abuses liable for civil penalties.
Black Caucus members went to the White House last week for a three-hour meeting with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and left with an agreement on the path forward both legislatively and through executive action.
On Tuesday night, Biden called on Congress to pass the legislative package, named after Floyd, which passed in the House last session but failed to overcome a GOP filibuster in the Senate.
Meanwhile, advocates have been urging the White House to be more clear about what has historically held up progress on police reform, even when Democrats controlled Congress.
AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
