The charts above reflect the results of the latest Economist YouGov Poll -- done between June 7th and 9th of a national sample of 1,241 registered voters, with a 3.4 point margin of error.
The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police was a moment that has changed this country. A videotape of the murder has made Americans face the fact that police violence has gotten out of hand, and something must be done about that violence (much of it racist).
Americans are now demanding change. The charts above show some of the changes supported by a huge majority of Americans. They want the use of choke holds banned by a 64 point margin. They want a warning system of problem officers (so they can't just go to another police department when fired for abusive conduct) by a 77 point margin. They want officers to be required to wear body cameras by an 80 point margin. They want officers to keep those body cameras on at all times by an 82 point margin. And they want police trained on how to de-escalate conflicts.
There's more that can (and probably should) be done, but these things would be a good start -- and they are supported by a large enough percentage of Americans that even political cowards in Congress could go along with them. These actions should be immediately passed by Congress.
After that is done, then Congress needs to engage in a serious discussion on how to further reform our police -- and on how to end racism in all of our institutions. If we are going to continue bragging about how we respect equal rights, it is time we actually do something to guarantee those rights.
