Republican Senator Scott slams liberal critics of his police reform effort

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) on Wednesday slammed liberals who are criticizing him for working to draft policing-reform legislation.

Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, is leading his caucus' effort on such reforms and has met with White House officials about the legislation.

"Not surprising the last 24 hours have seen a lot of 'token,' 'boy' or 'you’re being used' in my mentions," Scott tweeted. "Let me get this straight ... you DON’T want the person who has faced racial profiling by police, been pulled over dozens of times, or been speaking out for YEARS drafting this?"

"And don’t throw 'you’re the only black guy they know' at me either. There are only two black Democratic Senators, stop pretending there’s some huge racial diversity gap in the Senate. Ask my Dem colleagues what their staffs look like...I guarantee you won’t like the answer," he continued.

The reform efforts follow the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died during an arrest in which a white police officer in Minneapolis kneeled on Floyd's neck until he lost consciousness. The incident sparked more than 10 days of nationwide protests.

Scott released a draft of his bill, the Justice Act, which includes "reporting of uses of force that causes death or serious injury to the established FBI data collection" and increasing funding for body-worn cameras.

House and Senate Democrats on Monday released the Justice in Policing Act, which includes banning chokeholds, creating a national registry to track police misconduct and preventing the transfer of military-style weapons to police departments. 

Sens Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Chris Van Hollen (D-M.D.) reintroduced a bill on Wednesday that would place limits on "the federal transfer" of "offensive" military equipment to state and local police departments but not "defensive equipment, such as body armor," according to Paul's office.    

“For years, I have fought to stop the federal militarization of local police departments," Paul said in a statement. "I support our officers, but I do not believe it is beneficial for neighborhoods across the United States to have the same kind of military-grade weapons that are commonly used in Afghanistan. The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act institutes key reforms while ensuring officers still have access to protective equipment so they can do their jobs as safely as possible."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Wednesday that President Trump will "sign off" on "reasonable" policing reform.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for "wholesale reform" rather than a "piece meal" approach.

"We cannot approach this debate by cherry-picking one or two reforms and calling the job complete," he said. "It's my worry that's what our Republican colleagues intend to do."