House Dem: Criminal justice system ‘not cracked, but broken’

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) on Tuesday called for a “complete overhaul” of police training in light of the shooting of an unarmed African-American teenager in Ferguson, Mo.

“It is important that we realize that the system is not cracked, but broken,” Jackson Lee said on the House floor.

{mosads}She said police forces should receive training in when it’s proper to use lethal force in light of the shooting that led to Ferguson teenager Michael Brown’s death.

“There must be a complete overhaul of the training of local police in the nooks and crannies of America,” Jackson Lee said. “There must be training to protect officers but to know when to use deadly force.”

“There must be solutions for those young people that are out in the streets protesting,” the Texas Democrat said. “We cannot have a lopsided justice system.”

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus also spoke Monday night about the Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot Brown.