Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., said Sunday systemic racism “is always the ghost in the room” — contradicting an assertion by a Trump administration official that there’s no such problem in law enforcement.
In an interview on ABC News’ “This Week,” Demings — considered a possible pick for Joe Biden’s vice presidential running mate — was asked about earlier comments on the program from acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, who denied any “systemic racism problem” in law enforcement.
The United States has been “fighting systemic racism in this country for 400 years,” she said.
“While I heard what the secretary said, we have a lot of work to do,” she added. “And systemic racism is always the ghost in the room.”
Demings, a former Orlando Police Department chief, said she has found recent videos of law enforcement officers reacting to George Floyd protesters “extremely troubling” and said she is requesting law enforcement agencies across the country to “not wait for the federal government to have to tell you what to do.”
“You see what’s going on, you know what’s right and what’s wrong, take a critical look at yourselves, do a deep dive, and begin to change policies on your own because there are some things that we need to happen right now, like banning neck restraints, for example,” she said.
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