Press Releases

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.) today announced that the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to examine police accountability, aggression towards law enforcement, public safety concerns related to these issues, and solutions to address these problems.  The hearing will be held this month and witnesses will be announced at a later date.

Chairman Goodlatte: “Tragic news reports of excessive force by law enforcement and attacks on police officers have raised our nation’s conscience about how law enforcement interacts with our nation’s citizens.  In the coming weeks, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing so we can work together to ensure the safety of our communities, our citizens and those charged with protecting them.”

Ranking Member Conyers:  “Our country has been plagued by unrest due to a series of tragic incidents related to police-involved violence. In far too many cases, we have experienced situations that are further dividing communities and law enforcement. I am pleased that we will be having a hearing to examine this national crisis impacting the nation and look forward to working with Chairman Goodlatte on these critical issues.”

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In August 2014, Ranking Member Conyers, Reps. Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Steve Cohen (TN-09) issued a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (VA-06) requesting a Congressional hearing on several incidents of local law enforcement using excessive force–sometimes deadly–and other violations where civil rights have been infringed upon.  The letter also expresses concern over the extensive militarization of local law enforcement.