Lankford appeared on “This Week” ahead of the GOP releasing a policing bill.
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Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said on ABC’s “This Week” that there should be a national ban on chokeholds, the restraint police used when George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis.
“We should have that. That was one of the things that we should have engaged in a long time ago,” Lankford told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos.
“There’s been a long standing principle out there that that is not needed for that situation,” he added.
Speaking from Oklahoma City, Lankford appeared on “This Week” ahead of Senate Republicans’ unveiling of a new police reform bill in the wake of George Floyd’s death while in police custody and the subsequent protests. It follows sweeping legislation introduced by congressional Democrats that would ban police officers from the use of chokeholds and limit the transfers of military weaponry to state and local police departments.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said the GOP effort is expected to include provisions that would increase transparency in reporting police use of deadly force and of no-knock warrants.
ABC News’ Ashley Brown contributed to this report
This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
