AG Barr, Homeland chief say systemic racism not present in U.S. law enforcement

Attorney General William Barr said that he does not believe systemic racism exists within the U.S. law enforcement system, though he understands the distrust many black Americans feel. He noted that racism still exists in the U.S., and tainted American institutions for many years.

"I think there's racism in the United States still, but I don't think that the law enforcement system is systemically racist," Barr said during an interview that aired on CBS's "Face the Nation" program.

Barr said that he grasps "the distrust, however, of the African-American community given the history in this country. I think we have to recognize that for most of our history our institutions were explicitly racist. Since the 1960s, I think we've been in a phase of reforming our institutions and making sure that they're in sync with our laws and aren't fighting a rearguard action to impose inequities," he said.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf during an interview on ABC's "This Week" rejected the notion that systemic racism permeates U.S. policing, though he said that some officers abuse their authority and should be held to account.

"I do not think that we have a systemic racism problem with law enforcement officers across this country," he said. "Do I acknowledge that there are some law enforcement officers that abuse their job? Yes. And, again, we need to hold those accountable."

He cautioned against widely ascribing racism to police officers: "But again, I think painting law enforcement with a broad brush of systemic racism is really a disservice to the men and women who put on the badge, the uniform every day, risk their lives every day to protect the American people." 

The questions Barr and Wolf fielded came amid the national uproar that has followed the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minnesota.