Show an ad over header. AMP

Biden backs removing sexual assault cases from military chain of command

02 July 2021
Dan Ackermann

President Biden said Friday he supports the U.S. military removing sexual harassment and assault cases from the chain of command and instead creating "highly specialized units to handle these cases and related crimes."

The big picture: The reorganization comes amid growing criticism on Capitol Hill over the military's ineffectiveness at preventing incidences of sexual assault and harassment in the ranks, which have more than doubled in the past decade, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Driving the news: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said last month that he supports changes to the military justice system for sexual assault cases.

  • The Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault (IRC) on Friday published 28 recommendations and 54 sub-recommendations, including equipping leaders to understand prevention and the development of a prevention workforce, according to senior administration officials.

What he's saying: "I strongly support Secretary Austin’s announcement that he is accepting the core recommendations put forward by the ... IRC, including removing the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault from the chain of command and creating highly specialized units to handle these cases and related crimes," Biden said in a statement.

  • "We need concrete actions that fundamentally change the way we handle military sexual assault and that make it clear that these crimes will not be minimized or dismissed."
  • "We will also prioritize effective prevention strategies; promote safe, healthy, and respectful climates; and improve services to address the trauma that sexual assault victims experience and to facilitate their healing and recovery."

Worth noting: "Biden's decision could take until 2023 to implement, and his Democratic administration stopped short of endorsing legislation by the leading advocate of the change in the Senate, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, whose bill would also make broader military justice reforms," Reuters writes.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Section2

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.