Speaking on the recent incidents of police brutality and racial injustice against people of colour, Senator Kamala Harris at the vice-presidential debate on Wednesday said that the United States needs reform in the policing and the criminal justice system.

“Look, I am a former career prosecutor, and I know what I am talking about. Bad cops are bad for good cops,” she said, adding, “We need reform of our policing in America and our criminal justice system.”

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She also said that the country requires a national registry for police officers who break the law.

“Joe and I will immediately ban chokeholds and carotid holds,” the 55-year-old said, adding that George Floyd would have been alive today, had they been banned before.

Floyd was choked to death under the knee of a uniformed police officer, who put pressure on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds until he died. This gave rise to nationwide protests against racial injustice, protests that Kamala Harris was a part of.

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Vice President Mike Pence, too, condemned the police brutality against Floyd, saying that there was no excuse for what happened to him. However, he condemned the violence that followed during the protests.

“There is also no excuse for the rioting and looting that followed. I mean, it really is astonishing,” Pence said.