D.C. and Baltimore joined nationwide protests after George Floyd was killed at the hands of Minneapolis police a couple of weeks ago. But a Maryland lawmaker also wants to focus on the deaths of other black men while under police custody closer to home.

State Sen. William C. Smith Jr., a Democrat who represents parts of Montgomery County, described Maryland’s criminal justice system as “broken” and says that it has “systemic problems,” calling out the deaths of Freddie Gray, Anton Black and Robert White in particular.

“In 2015, after the murder of Freddie Gray and the uprising in Baltimore City, we had a task force to deal with some of this stuff,” Smith said. “And quite frankly we just didn’t go far enough on a lot of the transparency and accountability measures.”

Activists opposed to racism and police brutality have called for defunding police departments, among a series of other steps. One of those calls — Campaign Zero — has garnered social media attention with the hashtag #8Can’tWait. It calls for a ban on chokeholds and strangleholds, and a ban on shooting at moving vehicles, among other policies.

Other activists are calling for defunding police departments outright.

Smith, who chairs the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, said he plans to draft legislation to ensure police departments publicly identify officers when an action relates to using a firearm, deadly force or the investigation of sexual assault, among other things. It would also ban police from using chokeholds or strangleholds.

He also says he is open to the idea of a decrease in funding for police. “The demilitarization of military equipment is something that I also think should be defunded or should be lessened,” he added.

Smith said he plans to have the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hold a hearing on his legislation this fall, ahead of next year’s session.

Last year, Maryland Delegate Gabriel Acevero, a Democrat who represents parts of Montgomery County, sponsored legislation to require more transparency from police. It was called Anton’s Law, named after 19-year-old Anton Black, who died in police custody on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in 2018.

The legislation would have required more public disclosures by police and clarified when officers could use force, among other things. The bill never got out of committee.

Elsewhere, the District is also considering legislation to address the use of excessive force by police. The D.C. Council is expected to vote this week on an emergency bill along those lines. It includes a ban on chokeholds and a requirement that law enforcement authorities name officers involved in shooting deaths or another serious use of force.