Juan Williams says Dems want police reform, not to 'do away' with police officers

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Democratic leaders caution moderates, members in swing districts not to get sucked into defund police debate

Democrats push police reform bill amid growing calls to defund the police; congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports.

"The Five" co-host Juan Williams told the "Fox News Rundown." podcast Tuesday that he supported the Justice in Policing Act, which Democrats unveiled Monday and would ban certain practices and curb legal immunity granted to police officers for acts committed in the line of duty.

"I think this is the counter to a structure right now -- I would also point to the power of the police unions in that structure -- but an overall structure that really does not try to hold police accountable in cases of excessive force," Williams told host Jessica Rosenthal in discussing his support for the legislation.

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"The officer involved with the George Floyd case [Derek Chauvin] had many, many complaints against him for use of excessive force," Williams said. "Yet he remained on the police force in good standing and able to carry out what became, you know, in my opinion, an assault on a human being. And it was a deadly assault. So how can that be? What does that tell us? It tells us there's something wrong in the system as it exists."

DEMS UNVEIL SWEEPING POLICE REFORM AIMED AT HOLDING COPS ACCOUNTABLE

The bill would lower the bar for officers to face criminal prosecution by allowing charges in cases of reckless misconduct as well as intentional misconduct. It also seeks to incentivize independent investigations at the state and local level and allow more “pattern and practice” investigations by state attorneys general and the U.S. Department of Justice.

The legislation is one of several policy responses to Floyd's death, which has prompted mass protests around the nation. Some have called on governments to "defund" the police and reinvest the money into helping the black community.

Williams also singled out what he called the "intense" use of military equipment by law enforcement as a hurdle to improving relations between law enforcement and their communities.

"I don't think anybody believes that you should not have police," he said, "but there was a huge surge in this kind of discussion after the police were given lots of used military equipment after the withdrawal from Afghanistan began a few years ago. And if you will recall, things like high caliber weaponry ... and the tanks and the trucks suddenly ended up in the police department and appeared in Ferguson, Missouri [in 2014] ..."

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"I think," Williams added, "that there's been a surge of 'Why do we have such intense military-looking equipment on the streets of America, being used against Americans?' And now it has really resurged in the aftermath of what took place in Minneapolis.

"But again," he stated, "I just want to emphasize, there's a difference between thinking that defund the police means do away with the police versus reform -- not just reform -- the police, but put money into social workers, mental health people."

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The FOX NEWS RUNDOWN is a news-based daily morning podcast delivering a deep dive into the major and controversial stories of the day.

Fox News' Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.