When lawmakers negotiating police reform released a statement last week saying they had agreed on a framework and would keep talking, the words painted a rosy picture of discussions that in reality are teetering on collapse, according to those involved... Despite claims of progress, after more than three months the process is wearing on members and some are questioning whether the other side wants a deal or if political forces are too much to overcome. NBC News interviewed with more than half a dozen people from both parties, law enforcement and civil rights organizations, most who spoke on the condition of anonymity in reporting this article. The politics are becoming increasingly complex as Republicans are trying to turn urban crime rates into attacks on Democrats, who they paint as supporters of defunding the police and are warning suburban voters that crime could come to their doorstep if liberals remain in control of government. The police bill being negotiated in Congress wouldn't defund the police, but it is infused into the politics of passage.