在全国范围内的骚乱和对执法的不满中，司法部长威廉·巴尔在周三承认有色人种社区的治安通常不同于白人社区，称这种不公平是一种“普遍现象”
巴尔在接受美国广播公司新闻首席大法官记者皮埃尔·托马斯的独家采访时表示:“我确实认为这是一个普遍现象，尤其是非洲裔美国男性，他们受到了额外的怀疑，也许没有得到怀疑的好处。”。
“我认为如果人们得不到应有的尊重是错误的，”他解释道，“我认为这是我们必须解决的问题。”
在多起高调杀害手无寸铁的非裔美国人——包括明尼阿波利斯的乔治·弗洛伊德(George Floyd)——之后的反弹和抗议已经演变成一场全国性的清算，并呼吁对执法进行彻底改革。
巴尔说，他希望弗洛伊德的死“是一个催化剂，促进需要的各种改变。”
“在乔治·弗洛伊德事件之前，我认为我们在一个好地方，”他继续说道。“我认为明尼阿波利斯的这一事件表明，我们仍有一些工作要做，以解决非洲裔美国人社区对执法的不信任。”
美国广播公司的皮埃尔·托马斯采访司法部长威廉·巴尔，2020年7月8日。未知的卢克·巴尔/美国广播公司新闻
在国会，立法改革执法的努力到目前为止失败了。共和党参议员蒂姆·斯科特(Tim Scott)在6月份起草的一项警察改革法案在参议院去世，民主党人几乎一致投票反对推进该提案。
斯科特在周三访问南卡罗来纳州会见执法部门时加入了巴尔的行列，他坚持认为“该法案不是一个失败”，并告诉美国广播公司新闻，他仍然希望立法者们能够团结起来，共同起草一项两党合作的法案。
随着抗议活动的继续，巴尔拒绝了“解散警察”的呼吁，这是一个为示威者发出的号召。当被问及是否有“解散警察的价值”时，巴尔毫不含糊地说:“没有，因为我认为钱不应该来自警察。”
“我们必须考虑增加对警察的投资，”他补充道。“因此，我们一直在谈论的一件事是，尝试引导一些[卫生和公共服务]资金和拨款项目，并将其与执法支出同步，以便我们能够让各部门有共同的回应者。也就是说，社会工作者和心理健康专家可以通过某种电话来提供帮助。”
2020年6月18日，艺术家达斯汀·克莱因在弗吉尼亚州里士满的邦联将军罗伯特·李的雕像上投射了一幅乔治·弗洛伊德的图像。未定义的朱莉娅·伦德尔曼/路透社
在该部门唯一一次针对警察使用武力的民权调查中，巴尔将调查结果独家分享给了美国广播公司。
“我们发现，在那种情况下，斯普林菲尔德(马萨诸塞州)有一个毒品单位。)警察部门参与了过度使用武力的模式和实践，”巴尔说。
当被问及为什么与特朗普政府的单一调查相比，前几届政府进行了大约70次“模式或实践”调查时，巴尔表示，他不一定会反对在未来更多地将它们用作工具——但他表示，他相信有更好的方法来监督警察部门。
美国广播公司的皮埃尔·托马斯采访司法部长威廉·巴尔，2020年7月8日。未知的卢克·巴尔/美国广播公司新闻
巴尔也参与了黑人的生活很重要尽管唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统严厉批评了这场运动，称其为“仇恨的象征”，但在最近几周，这场运动的支持率明显上升皮尤研究中心最近的一项研究发现，超过三分之二的美国人现在在某种程度上支持它。
“黑人生活很重要——这是一个正在被使用的术语，它是一个为非裔美国人争取民权的团体。你对黑人生活有什么看法?你愿意说黑人生活很重要吗?”托马斯问道。
“嗯，我做了区分。我会区分我不同意的组织。他们有更广泛的议程，”巴尔回应道。“但就黑人的生命很重要这一命题而言，显然黑人的生命很重要。我认为所有生命所有人的生命都是神圣的，都应该受到尊重。显然，黑人的生活很重要。
“但我也认为，现在使用它在某种程度上扭曲了辩论，因为它实际上是专门用来指因警察的不当行为而失去的黑人生命，你知道，这些生命在统计上一直在下降。五年前，有40起这样的事件。去年是10岁。所以至少这是一条积极的轨迹。但是你可以把它与非洲裔美国人社区的一千起凶杀案相比较。那些黑人的生活也很重要。这些都是受警方保护的生命，”他补充道。
然而，在他对黑人生命物质运动的描述中，巴尔说它仍然过于狭隘。应该把更多的注意力放在经济发展上，而不是“仅仅是人身安全”在其网站上，黑人生活问题运动将自己描述为“致力于共同奋斗，想象并创造一个没有反黑人的世界，在这个世界里，每个黑人都有社会、经济和政治力量来茁壮成长。”
“这不仅仅是保护生命。黑人的生活对于确保非裔美国人充分享受这个社会的福利以及他们的生活繁荣至关重要，”巴尔继续说道。“它不仅仅是人身安全。这关系到获得良好的教育，关系到获得经济机会。”
2020年6月13日，明尼苏达州明尼阿波利斯市，抗议者在反对警察暴行和种族主义的示威游行中，在明尼阿波利斯第一警察分局外举着标语。未定义的凯雷姆·于切尔/法新社
就针对非裔美国人的暴力行为而言，巴尔补充道，他担心抗议者遗漏了一个更广泛叙事的关键元素。也就是说，他们自己社区内的暴力。
“我还认为(这个短语)现在被使用了——它在某种程度上扭曲了这场辩论，因为它实际上是用来指几乎完全是因为警察的不当行为而失去的黑人生命，”他说。“然后你把它与非裔美国人社区的8000起凶杀案相比较，那些黑人的生活也很重要。这些都是受警方保护的生命。”
例如，在堪萨斯市，巴尔说司法部已经与密苏里州当局联系，在巴尔称之为“严重的犯罪激增”之后，提供额外的联邦特工
支持者的涌入将被称为“传奇行动”，以一名4岁男孩的名字命名，这名男孩在堪萨斯城家中睡觉时被枪杀。这个男孩刚刚从心脏直视手术中康复。
巴尔说:“我女儿在相当大的年龄时做过心脏直视手术，我记得这对我们家来说压力有多大。”。“你的孩子幸存下来的想法，以及看到你的孩子度过这种难关时你会感到的喜悦，对我影响很大。”
Unfair policing of African Americans a 'widespread phenomenon,' Attorney General Barr says
Amid nationwide unrest and frustration with law enforcement, Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday acknowledged that communities of color are often policed differently from white ones, calling the unfairness a “widespread phenomenon.”
“I do think it is a widespread phenomenon that African American males, in particular, are treated with extra suspicion and maybe not given the benefit of the doubt,” Barr told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas in an exclusive interview.
“I think it is wrong if people are not respected appropriately and given their due,” he explained, “and I think it’s something we have to address.”
Backlash and protests in the wake of multiple high-profile killings of unarmed African Americans – including of George Floyd in Minneapolis – has evolved into a national reckoning and calls for an overhaul of law enforcement.
Barr said he hopes Floyd’s death “is a catalyst for the kinds of changes that are needed.”
“Before the George Floyd incident I thought we were in a good place,” he continued. “I think that this episode in Minneapolis showed that we still have some work to do in addressing the distrust that exists in the African American community toward law enforcement.”
In Congress, efforts to enact legislative change in law enforcement have thus far failed. A police reform bill penned in June by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., died in the Senate, where Democrats voted almost unanimously against moving forward with the proposal.
Scott, who joined Barr during his visit to South Carolina on Wednesday to meet with law enforcement, insisted “the bill wasn’t a failure,” and told ABC News that he remains hopeful that legislators can come together on crafting a bipartisan effort.
As protests continue, Barr pushed back on calls to “defund the police,” a phrase that has emerged as a rallying cry for demonstrators. Asked whether there is “value in defunding the police,” Barr was unequivocal: “No, because I don’t think the money should come out of the police.”
“We have to think about more investment in the police,” he added. “So one of the things we’ve been talking about is trying to direct some of the [Health and Human Services] money and grant programs and sync it up with law enforcement spending so we can enable the departments to have co-responders. That is, social workers and mental health experts who can go on certain kinds of calls to help.”
In the department’s only civil rights investigation into police use of force, Barr shared the results exclusively with ABC News.
“We found, in that case, that there was a drug unit in the Springfield (Mass.) police department that was engaged in a pattern and practice of using excessive force,” Barr said.
When pressed over why previous administrations had mounted approximately 70 "pattern or practice" probes in comparison with the single investigation under the Trump administration, Barr said he would not necessarily be opposed to using them as a tool more in the future — but indicated his belief that there are better ways to conduct oversight of police departments.
Barr also weighed in on theBlack Lives Mattermovement, which has seen a notable uptick in support in recent weeks despite harsh criticism from President Donald Trump, who has called the movement a "symbol of hate." A recent study from the Pew Research Center found that more than two-thirds of Americans now support it to some extent.
"Black Lives Matter-- is a term that's being used, it's a group that pushes for civil rights of African Americans. What's-- what's your view of Black Lives Matter? And are you willing to say Black Lives Matter?" Thomas asked.
"Well, I make a distinction. I'd make a distinction between the organization, which I don't agree with. They have a broader agenda," Barr responded. "But in terms of the proposition that black lives matter, obviously black lives matter. I think all lives all human life is is sacred and entitled to respect. And obviously, black lives matter.
"But I also think that it's being used now is sort of distorting the debate to some extent, because it's used really to refer exclusively to black lives that are lost to police misconduct, which are, you know, have been going down statistically. Five years ago, there were 40 such incidents. This last year it was 10. So at least it's a positive trajectory there. But then you compare it to a thousand homicides in the African American community. Those black lives matter, too. And those are lives that are protected by the police," he added.
In his framing of the Black Lives Matter movement, however, Barr said it remains is too narrow. More focus should be placed on economic advancement as opposed to “just physical safety.” On its website, the Black Lives Matter movement describes itself as "committed to struggling together and to imagining and creating a world free of anti-Blackness, where every Black person has the social, economic, and political power to thrive."
“It’s not just protecting life. It’s black lives matter in ensuring that African Americans fully participate in the benefits of this society and their lives flourish,” Barr continued. “It goes beyond just physical safety. It goes to getting good education, it goes to having economic opportunities.”
In terms of violence against African Americans, Barr added that he fears protesters are missing a key element of the broader narrative. That is, violence within their own communities.
“I also think [the phrase] is being used now – it is distorting the debate to some extent, because it is used really to refer almost exclusively to black lives that are lost to police misconduct,” he said. “Then you compare it to 8,000 homicides in the African American community, those are black lives that matter, too. And those are lives that are protected by the police.”
In Kansas City, for example, Barr said the Justice Department has been in touch with state authorities in Missouri to provide additional federal agents after what Barr called “a serious spike in crime.”
The influx of support will be called Operation Legend, named after a 4-year-old boy who was shot and killed while sleeping in his Kansas City home. The boy had just recovered from open-heart surgery.
“My daughter had open heart surgery at a comparable age, and I remember how stressful it was for our family,” Barr said. “And the idea of your child surviving that, and the joy you would feel to see your kid pull through something like that, it affected me a lot.”
