social media. Officer Derek Chauvin spent over nine minutes with his knee on Floyd's neck, asphyxiating him, despite pleas from onlookers to stop. The incident has sparked ongoing protests and riots across the United States. Accountability Special commissions, such as the Knapp Commission in New York City during the 1970s, have been used to bring about changes in law enforcement agencies. Civilian review boards (permanent external oversight agencies) have also been used as a means for improving police accountability. Review boards tend to focus on individual complaints, rather than broader organizational issues that may result in long-term improvements. The 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act authorized the United States Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division to bring civil ("pattern or practice") suits against local law enforcement agencies, to rein in abuses and hold them accountable. As a result, numerous departments have entered into consent decrees or memoranda of understanding, requiring them to make organizational reforms. This approach shifts focus from individual officers to placing focus on police organizations. Cost of Police Misconduct Act The Cost of Police Misconduct Act (H.R.8908) is a bill introduced to the House on 9 December 2020 by Rep. Don Beyer, proposed while incoming chair of the United States Congressional Joint Economic Committee, which seeks to create "a publicly accessible federal database that would track police misconduct allegations and settlements at both the state and federal levels". Police reform There have been many initiatives for police reform in the United States, notably since the 1960s, under President Lyndon Johnson, and several more recent efforts. In the 21st century, reforms based on community dialogue, legal requirements and updating of police training are growing. Nonetheless, instances of misconduct and brutality have continued to occur. Following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer, a number of reforms were implemented. Calls for abolition While police resentment and calls for abolition of the police have existed in the United States for over a century, police abolition became more popular in 2014 following the killing of Michael Brown and the Ferguson unrest, with national attention being drawn to issues surrounding policing. The roots of police abolition stem from (and are often linked to) the prison abolition movement. Authors and activists such as Angela Davis and Ruth Wilson Gilmore, who are best known for their prison abolition work, have integrated police abolition into their work when