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ORLANDO Rep. Val DemingsValdez (Val) Venita DemingsThe Hill's Campaign Report: Candidates, lawmakers mark Juneteenth The Hill's 12:30 Report: DC moves toward Phase Two of reopening The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Trump under fire as SCOTUS, Bolton deal blows MORE (D-Fla.) is coming under intense scrutiny from progressives over her record as Orlando police chief a decade ago, posing a potential hurdle to her prospects of becoming Joe BidenJoe BidenTrump mocked for low attendance at rally Trump makes defiant return to campaign stage amid controversies Trump, Pence scrap planned outdoor speeches at Tulsa rally MORE's running mate.

Biden is facing growing pressure to pick an African American woman as his vice president following nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd.

And many Democrats have pointed to Demings, a second-term Florida congresswoman, as someone who could straddle the emotional divide over police reform: a former police chief who can speak personally about police brutality and systemic racism against blacks but who insulates Democrats from GOP charges they are soft-on-crime liberals.

But as Demingss star rises, some Black Lives Matter (BLM) and other progressive activists are taking aim at her tenure as Orlando's first female police chief, which spanned 2007 to 2011, and they are questioning whether someone who spent a decades-long career in law enforcement is right for this moment.

While she was chief of police, I felt like public policies and changes to address community policing should have been done. It was not, said Lawanna Gelzer, president of the National Action Networks Central Florida chapter. Weve had a problem here for years."

I will go vote, but I will not vote for her if shes on that ticket, Gelzer added. Biden needs to listen to the people of Orlando and of Florida and elsewhere not law enforcement at this time.

Similarly, some BLM activists told The Hill that Demings, or anyone else who wore a police uniform, is a non-starter for them as a vice presidential candidate.

Shes a cop. She was a top cop at an extremely brutal police department. She was a vocal supporter of brutal actions by police, said Hawk Newsome, who co-founded BLMs Greater New York chapter with his sister, congressional candidate Chivona Newsome.

We are working to abolish police. We are working to defund police, Hawk said in a phone interview. When you are a police officer, you are not black anymore. You are blue.

He then turned to his sister and asked if Biden should pick a police officer as his VP. Hell no! she screamed from across the room.

A 2015investigationby the Orlando Sentinel into the citys police department found that from 2010 to 2014 a period partially overlapping Demingss tenure officers used force 3,100 times, including kicking, pepper-spraying or shocking suspects.

And Orlando police used force more frequently on black suspects, the newspaper found, mirroring findings elsewhere in the country. Some 55 percent of use-of-force incidents involved blacks, though only 28 percent of the citys population is black. Seven of the 10 people shot to death by officers were black.

In one case highlighted by the Sentinel, Marcus Cull, a black man, was shot in the back by Officer Carlos Villaverde in2011 after being mistakenfor a robbery suspect.Cull sued Villaverde, the city of Orlando and another officer involved in 2014, alleging they violated his civil rights, but a judge ruled that Villaverde did not violate Culls constitutional rights.

Demings, 63, was not available for an interview, a spokesman said. But she has consistently defended her tenure as police chief, and she did so again during a call with reporters this week.

Addressing the Sentinel report, she pointed out she was chief of police during only a year anda half of the five-year period analyzed.

Demings also noted that Orlando police may have been more transparent than other agencies in reporting use-of-force incidents, leading to higher numbers. Additionally, she said the majority of officers who used force during her tenure were working in downtown Orlandos bar scene between 12 a.m. and 3 a.m., posing "unique challenges for officers.

We hired the brightest and the best, with the right mind and right heart to do the job in that they had the training, including de-escalation training so they would not have to go hands on, Demings said on the call.

And as protests have raged in Orlando and other cities, Demings has positioned herself as a strong advocate of the bold police reforms that House Democrats will bring to the floor next week.

As a former woman in blue, let me begin with my brothers and sisters in blue: What in the hell are you doing? Demings wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post days after Floyds death.

The scrutiny of Demings comes as Biden himself faces pressure from the left to change his own policies on policing, in part over his involvement in drafting a 1994 crime bill widely seen as having led to a surge in the incarceration rates of African Americans.

Bidens teamisvetting a small group of potential running mates that includes four black women: Demings, Sen. Kamala HarrisKamala Devi HarrisThe Hill's Campaign Report: Candidates, lawmakers mark Juneteenth Tulsa becomes battleground in latest Trump controversy 'The Senate could certainly use a pastor': Georgia Democrat seeks to seize 'moral moment' MORE (D-Calif.), former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who herself is grappling with police-brutality incidents in her city.

Harris is seen as the battle-tested front-runner for the nomination. But like Demings, Harriss own law enforcement background as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general has come under focus as activists question her criminal justice record and the Golden State's disproportionate imprisonment of blacks.

Still, one alum from the Obama-Biden campaign called Demings an incredible talent and an excellent option. She connects well with everyday folks of all stripes." But the source added: The fly in the ointment may be her police record, particularly during these times.

Meanwhile, Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright said Demings's police background could be helpful overall.

Her being able to speak to a broad range of issues, and being able to relate to them through her sets of experiences, I think that matters, Seawright said. I definitely think her law enforcement background is a positive attribute, and definitely being a black woman from a place where its important not only for us to compete, but possibly win, and thats Florida.

Demings grew up poor, the youngest of seven children born to working-class parents in Jacksonville. Her father worked the orange groves; her mother was a housekeeper. Early on, she attended segregated schools. Demings frequently recounts thatat her first integrated school, her teacher picked for her first position of authority: safety patrol.

After college and a brief stint as a social worker, Demings joined the Orlando Police Department in 1984 and climbed the ranks to become police chief in 2007. Her husband, Jerry Demings, whoheld the position before her, went on to win election as sheriff of Orange County and in 2018 became the first black mayor of that county. They have three children.

Progressives have voiced concerns over the central Florida power couples close ties to law enforcement.

Not only do I think a lot of misconduct happened on her watch, I also believe that that standard went into the policing that continues today, said Corrine Daly, an organizer at Orlando Revolution, an affiliate of progressive group Our Revolution.

Its clear theres been ties between the policing and our policy, Daly said. Theres definitely some heavy handed excessive police force.

To combat some of the criticism, Demingshas highlighted her personal experience with racism and her work as a social worker dealing with broken families and broken children.

Ive been on both sides of this issue, as a social worker and as a law enforcement officer, she said on the call. As a law enforcement officer, I took my social worker mind and heart to the job, quickly realizing that we could not arrest our way out of making better, stronger communities, that we had to address some of the social ills that occurred in the first place.

But activists say Demingss latest response to police brutality is no more than lip service.

Actions speak louder than words, Gelzer, of the National Action Network, said. She has yet to pick up the phone and call and talk to use about the issues that were dealing with.

Demings first ran for Congress in 2012 but was narrowly defeated by Rep. Daniel WebsterDaniel Alan WebsterFormer cop Demings faces progressive pushback in veepstakes Overnight Energy: Biden campaign says he would revoke Keystone XL permit | EPA emails reveal talks between Trump officials, chemical group before 2017 settlement | Tensions emerge on Natural Resources panel over virtual meetings Tensions emerge on Natural Resources panel over virtual meetings MORE (R-Fla.). Four years later, after redistricting, she ran again and won, taking office shortly before Trump was sworn in.

As a backbencher, Demings kept a low profile on Capitol Hill, but she burst onto the national scene in January when Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiNadler: House Judiciary Committee will open investigation into Berman firing White House says it plans to ensure Bolton gets 'no profits' from book Democrats pan Trump, Barr over dismissal of US Attorney Geoffrey Berman MORE (D-Calif.) tapped her as one of seven House impeachment managers in the historic Senate impeachment trial of Trump.

Demings is extremely popular in the House Democratic Caucus, especially among her female colleagues. Rep. Lois FrankelLois Jane FrankelFormer cop Demings faces progressive pushback in veepstakes Gloves come off as Democrats fight for House seat in California House members race to prepare for first-ever remote votes MORE, a fellow Florida Democrat who co-chairs the Womens Caucus, has been leading a group of lawmakers whove publicly and privately lobbied the Biden campaign to choose Demings.

We need people with impeccable moral clarity who are very strong and very brave, and that really defines her, Frankel, the former mayor of West Palm Beach, said. She was a sheriff in a big municipality for years so she knows the domestic issues very well, and as a member of Homeland Security and Intelligence committees, shes got her foreign-policy chops.

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