Cleveland Police Accept Use of Force Limits in Justice Dept. Deal
2015/5/26- The Cleveland Police Department, which has become a flash point in the racially charged debate over police tactics, has agreed to follow some of the most exacting standards in the nation over how and when its officers can use force, and will accept close oversight to make sure those rules are not ignored, city and federal officials said Tuesday.
The agreement is part of a settlement with the Justice Department over what federal officials have called a pattern of unconstitutional policing and abuse in Cleveland. The Justice Department found that police officers here used stun guns inappropriately, punched and kicked unarmed people, and shot at people who posed no threat. The incidents often went unreported and uninvestigated, investigators found.
“There is much work to be done, across the nation and in Cleveland, to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve where it has eroded, but it can be done,” said Vanita Gupta, who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Today’s agreement really should serve as a model for those seeking to address similar issues in their communities.”
At a news conference announcing the settlement, which started minutes after a group of clergy members and parishioners marched peacefully through downtown demanding changes to the justice system, Mayor Frank Jackson said the settlement would allow needed changes to be installed quickly and broadly.
The settlement “gives us the structure and the tools we need to have comprehensive reform rather than doing one thing at a time,” said Mayor Jackson, who mentioned efforts already underway to outfit officers with body cameras and to engage proactively with the community.
At a time when the Obama administration has bemoaned the lack of data surrounding the use of force by police, Cleveland has agreed to document every time officers so much as unholster their guns. Police supervisors will investigate the uses of force in much the same way that officers investigate crimes.
“A fundamental goal of the revised use of force policy will be to account for, review, and investigate every reportable use of force,” the agreement says.
Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department has opened nearly two dozen civil rights investigations into the practices of police departments. Many of the elements in the Cleveland settlement — improved training, better internal oversight and an independent monitor — have become standard.
Civil rights investigators recently announced that they would open an investigation in Baltimore after Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died of injuries he suffered while in police custody. The Justice Department is also negotiating a settlement with city officials in Ferguson, Mo., which erupted in violent protests over the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, after an encounter with a police officer.
The rules prohibit officers from using force against people simply for talking back or as punishment for running away. Pistol whipping is prohibited, as is firing warning shots, the agreement says. The city has agreed to allow an independent monitor to track its progress. If the city does not put into effect the changes called for in the settlement, a federal judge has the authority to demand them.
The settlement was announced days after a judge found a Cleveland police officer not guilty of manslaughter in the 2012 shooting of two unarmed occupants of a car, both of them black. The verdict prompted protests and reignited discussions about how officers treat the city’s African-American residents. Under the new rules, shooting at moving cars is generally prohibited, a guideline that policing specialists have called for in cities around the country.The New York Police Department, for example, banned shooting at moving cars in 1972 and saw the number of shootings plummet almost immediately. Chuck Wexler, the director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington-based research group, called it “probably the single most significant policy decision” police departments can make regarding use of force.
After the verdicton Saturday, 71 people were arrested during protests, but the streets have remained calm since. Most people were arrested on misdemeanors, but four were arraignedTuesdayon felony charges. One, an 18-year-old high school senior, was charged with assault and rioting. A 21-year-old art student was accused of throwing a rock at the police and faces charge of assaulting an officer.
Cleveland leaders, including Mayor Jackson and Calvin Williams, the police chief, have praised peaceful protesters and insisted that their right to demonstrate will be respected. Chief Williams said Tuesday that he saw improving relationships with residents as vital to making the consent decree work.
“If we don’t ensure that our officers and our community have a better relationship, then a lot of what we’re trying to implement now in terms of this agreement are going to be hard to do,” Chief Williams said. “We have to have that relationship with our community. We have to have a better relationship with our community. And we’ve started on that path already.”
Source: The New York Times
