US Senators Pass Law Enforcement Reporting Bill to Avoid Police Brutality

WASHINGTON, December 12 (Sputnik) – A bill, passed by the US Senate that would require states to report the number of individuals who die each year in police custody and while being arrested, will help hold law enforcement agencies accountable amid recent cases of race-related police brutality in the United States, Senator Richard Blumenthal has said in a statement.

"The stark, staggering fact is that the nation has no reliable idea how many Americans die during arrests or police custody each year," the statement, released Thursday, said.

"This legislation will fix that unacceptable factual gap. It will ensure that the nation knows exactly how many Americans die in custody, and it will give the information needed to strengthen trust at every level," the statement added.

US Senator Rand Paul said in a statement, following the passage of the bill that it would allow to "get a true picture of the extent and circumstances of deaths in the criminal justice system".

The bipartisan "Death in Custody Reporting Act", which passed the Senate on Wednesday, is now waiting for US President Barack Obama's signed approval.

The bill follows recent US grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers who were responsible for the deaths of two African-American men this summer.

One of the African-Americans, Eric Garner, was killed in a chokehold by officer Daniel Pantaleo in New York in July. The other, 18-year-old Michael Brown, was shot to death in August, in Ferguson, Missouri, by officer Darren Wilson.

Both of the incidents as well as the grand jury decisions have led to massive protests across the United States.