George Floyd’s brother says he still has nightmares about his murder as Congress reintroduces policing bill

George Floyd’s family is still in mourning, four years after he was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.

“(It’s) hell,” sister-in-law Keeta Floyd told CBS News. “They don’t realize the things that are happening behind the scenes, for every life that has been lost since George Floyd’s death. It’s extremely painful. It’s a wound that never heals.”

Several members of the Floyd family joined members of the Congressional Black Caucus this week in reintroducing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The measure, sponsored by Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, would enact stricter reforms to address police misconduct and strengthen accountability standards.

“We want this bill to pass, period,” Floyd’s brother Philonise told CBS News. “We have been fighting for this same law since 2020, since my brother was murdered. The day after the funeral, I came here to speak to Congress. ‘Let’s do this, let’s do that.'”

Before Republicans gained the majority, the House twice passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act — both times while the House was under Democratic control, in 2020 and 2021. The bill limited qualified immunity for police officers, prevented profiling racial and restricted the use of excessive weapons. strength. It collapsed in the Senate after bipartisan negotiations failed between New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker and South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott over a proposal to ban chokeholds, no-knock warrants and expand federal data collection efforts.

“We had a bill text that was supported by the largest police union in the country, by chiefs associations across the country, by civil rights activists and more, but in the Senate because of the filibuster, it takes 60 votes to pass anything,” Booker said. CBS News. “And while I am confident that we have more than 50 votes to pass many common-sense reforms, it is still frustrating to me that we have not been able to introduce bills that reflect the changes that have been made in both red and blue states.”

CBS News has reached out to Scott’s office for comment. Last year, the Republican senator gave a long speech about police reform after the death of Tire Nichols, 29 years oldwho was killed by officers from a Memphis police unit during a traffic stop.

“Politics often gets in the way of what every American knows is common sense,” Scott said. “Here we meet again…having the same conversation without any action having taken place thus far.”

According to National Conference of State LegislaturesAround 400 bills on policing policies were enacted last year, including measures that address officer training.

“Colorado said we’re going to end qualified immunity, Connecticut said that, New Mexico said that,” Philonise Floyd said of several state laws that have gone into effect since her brother’s death in 2020. “It’s these other states that haven’t. . They’ve opened their eyes and seen what’s going on, but what’s going to happen is when it gets to the front door, they’re going to make the change and say, ‘Hey, let’s not be reactive. proactive.”

President Biden signed an executive order in 2022 requiring federal law enforcement agencies to implement reforms and encourage state and local forces to improve policing practices. In a statement, Jackson Lee said Congress must “do its part.”

“While we applaud the administration’s efforts, this action is not as permanent or as comprehensive as the reforms we can accomplish through Congressional action,” said Jackson Lee.

Floyd, 46, was killed after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd gasped, “I can’t breathe.” The incident, captured on video, sparked global protests and a racial reckoning during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Chauvin was convicted and is currently serving a 22-and-a-half-year prison sentence.

Philonise and his wife say he still has nightmares about his brother’s murder.

“He himself is in a mental health crisis,” Keeta explained. “They can’t see that, how it tears families apart. They can’t see that. You know, the world doesn’t see that. And so, we’re healing. We’re constantly healing.”

“I can’t talk to my brother,” said Philonise, who called George “a beacon of hope.”

“All these families who are with us, who don’t know, who have never been through this, are standing up for a reason, because they say our fight is your fight,” said Philonise Floyd. “George was my brother. All the mothers said, ‘That was my son.’ So, if people are like this, they are for a reason, because they want people to be able to change these laws.”