Biden attends memorial service honoring U.S. law enforcement officers

By Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden and archetypal woman Jill Biden  attended a memorial work connected Saturday astatine the United States Capitol to grant instrumentality enforcement officers who mislaid their lives successful the enactment of work successful 2019 and 2020.

The White House has besides issued a proclamation ordering flags to beryllium flown astatine half-staff astatine nationalist buildings connected Saturday.

The National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service began successful 1982 arsenic a tiny gathering successful Washington’s Senate Park of astir 120 survivors and supporters of instrumentality enforcement. It has since turned into a bid of events, attracting thousands of survivors and officers to the nation’s superior each year.

Biden has been a loyal state to instrumentality enforcement, dating backmost to his days successful the Senate erstwhile helium crafted the 1994 transgression measure with their help. Earlier this year, the president visited the Capitol to wage his respects to Brian Sicknick, a constabulary serviceman who died of aggregate strokes aft being sprayed with a chemic during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

However, the president’s efforts to walk a constabulary betterment measure to tighten practices pursuing the 2020 execution of George Floyd successful Minneapolis failed successful September https://www.reuters.com/world/us/republicans-are-refusing-back-police-reforms-trump-supported-white-house-2021-09-22. That marked a setback for the Democratic president, who campaigned connected the request for policing reforms.

Since then, Biden has expressed anticipation that helium tin inactive motion a broad constabulary betterment measure into law, and indicated successful statements astatine the clip that Democrats mightiness person to bash that connected their own.

Biden has besides said helium volition look into further enforcement actions https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-wants-keep-working-police-reform-bill-willing-take-executive-action-2021-09-22 helium tin instrumentality to assistance clasp constabulary officers accountable for breaking the law.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose successful Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)