Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) thinks Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) "don't give a darn" when it comes to police reform amid calls for legislative action following the footage released showing the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols by Memphis officers.
Waters said in an interview with MSNBC's Symone Sanders on Sunday that she is "absolutely angered by the killing of young black men in this country." The footage, split into four videos, showed how officers tracked Nichols down, aggressively forced him onto the ground, and beat and pepper-sprayed him, initially stemming from a traffic stop.
VIDEO OF OFFICERS BEATING TYRE NICHOLS RELEASED
“We keep fighting, we keep begging, we keep doing everything that we possibly can,” Waters said, mentioning the Democrats' push to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. But Waters said those efforts are failing because “we don’t have enough members who care enough about this issue.”
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act has not yet made it to the Senate floor. Despite a Democratic majority, Senate rules dictate that there must be 60 votes in favor to advance legislation. The law would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants for all federal law enforcement agencies, create a national registry of police abuses, and make prosecuting and suing officers easier.
Sinema and Manchin are consistent defenders of the Senate filibuster, which allowed Republicans to block Democratic legislation aiming for criminal justice reform and gun control, among other areas, for the past two years.
“When you look at even two Democrats — Manchin, of course, and of course, that woman from Arizona — they don’t give a darn about this issue," Waters said. "They would rather have the power to determine what happens in the Senate by using their two votes for themselves than anything else."
After the footage's release, Manchin released a statement offering condolences to Nichols's family.
"For too long, we have witnessed these senseless acts by those sworn to protect us, and it must end," Manchin wrote on behalf of himself and his wife, Gayle. "This cannot be the America we strive for, and we must come together to meaningfully address it."
Manchin was also among a handful of Democrats who voted in June 2020 to start a debate on a police reform bill introduced by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
Sinema spoke out in 2020 against efforts to "defund the police," a cry from activists following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, per the Hill.
However, for Waters, those words are not enough to make lasting change, she said, and people must continue to protest and elect officials who care about the issue.
Nichols, 29, died from his injuries on Jan. 10, three days after the fatal traffic stop.
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Former officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith are charged with second-degree murder, two counts of official misconduct, one count of official oppression, aggravated assault-act in concert, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping.
A sixth Memphis officer, Preston Hemphill, was relieved of duty on Monday regarding the incident, per Memphis Police. It is unknown at this time to what extent Hemphill was involved.