Date: 2014-12-10
Speaker: AL GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I would like to say without reservation. hesitation. or equivocation. I have preeminent respect for the constabulary. I have a relative who was a part of the constabulary. I believe that police officers have a very difficult job. and they do it under stressful circumstances. and I believe that most police officers are doing a good job every day. I also want to say that there are many people without the constabulary. however. who would have us get over Michael Brown. get over Eric Garner. get on with it. And then there are those who say in the alternativenot in these exact words but with words connoting thisthey say. if you cant get over Garner. get over Brown. because Garner is a better case for you to take to the court of public opinion. To these people I say. we cant get over Garner and we cant get over Brown. because if the truth be told. Garner and Brown are two sides of the same coin. two sides of one coin. If the truth be told. without the eye of the camera. without what appears to be clear and convincing evidence. without what appears to be evidence that is beyond reproach. without the eye of the camera. Garner would be Brown. The Garner case is only what it is because the camera was there to capture the essence of what happened. If the truth be told. without the camera. there would be questions about how Garner was arrested. there would be questions about how he was taken to the ground. there would be questions about whether he made comments about his inability to breathe. How many times did he say. "I cant breathe?" There would be questions about whether or not he made some effort to harm some officer. There would be questions about whether the guns were somehow at risk of being taken from an officer. If the truth be told. without the eye of the camera. Garner would be Brown. This is why. Mr. Speaker. I have made an appeal to this House to bring H.R. 5407 to the floor. Let it go to a hearing. H.R. 5407 is the TIP Act. the Transparency in Policing Act. H.R. 5407 would accord the Justice Department the opportunity to do a survey and ascertain the cost of equipping municipalities. counties. police departmentsthe constabulary. if you willwith cameras. Then it would go on to require those that can afford it to have the cameras. and those that cannot. it provides an exemption to them. H.R. 5407 is good legislation. It is not a panacea. it wont cure all. For those who are concerned about the camera not being enough to cause a proper decision to be reached before a grand jury. it may not be. but it sure does provide the opportunity to galvanize the country around the notion that something needs to be done. It is not a panacea. not a cureall. but it does present an opportunity for officers to be exonerated. H.R. 5407 would do more to help officers than anything out there right now that I can see. because it gives the evidence of what actually occurred at an event. it can cause officers not to be questioned about what they did. and it will cause those who would perpetrate dastardly deeds and fraudulent circumstances upon officers to be properly prosecuted. H.R. 5407 is a bill that is before the House and has a good many supporters right now. more than 40. I believe that H.R. 5407 deserves a hearing. I make an appeal. I beseech. and I implore my colleagues. who have the preeminent authority to make a decision as to whether it moves forward. to please give H.R. 5407 an opportunity to be heard. This is not an appeal from one Congressperson. this is an appeal from those who are concerned about proper policing.