Department of Justice
A vital grant opportunity for law enforcement agencies
CRI-TAC, which recently surpassed 1,000 engagements with agencies, aims to empower law enforcement with tailored assistance and innovative policing strategies
Before Garland was Biden’s nominee for Attorney General, he was Obama’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court
“Today’s filing recognizes the significant progress [the city and the NOPD] have made to ensure constitutional and fair policing,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke
“Today’s findings show that the Lexington Police Department...routinely [violated] the constitutional rights of those it was sworn to protect,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said
$157 million from the grant is allocated to the COPS Hiring Program, supporting the addition of 1,200 officers across 235 agencies
DOJ opens civil rights probe of Miss. sheriff’s office after ex-deputies convicted of racist assault
The DOJ will investigate whether the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department has engaged in a pattern of excessive force, and whether it has used discriminatory policing practices
“These materials are important for our community to see...as we strive to be a self-assessing and self-correcting department,” Interim Chief Michael Sullivan said
“The City of Phoenix and Phoenix Police Department of today are materially different than the department that you investigated,” the city said in a letter to the DOJ
The APD is now compliant with the settlement agreement that resulted from the DOJ investigation, and must enter a “sustainment” phase to last until the end of 2025
The gun crime intelligence center at Chicago’s ATF office brings together federal agents, police and prosecutors to share and analyze firearm intelligence to identify traffickers and shooters
As part of a federal settlement, the monitor will oversee pared-down requirements that will allow the city of Portland to concentrate on police accountability and officer use of force
“Riverside appreciates its strong partnership with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office,” the district stated. “Without their assistance, this project would not have been possible”
Changes the department has enacted since the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary include replacing equipment and updating and extending officer training
“An active shooter with access to victims should never be considered and treated as a barricaded subject,” the report says
“Injuries during transport have become extremely rare, and BPD now has in place the equipment, training, policies and practices to maintain this safety record,” the DOJ stated
“These changes demonstrate a powerful commitment to reform, a commitment that warrants a different approach from the DOJ than has been the case over the past dozen years,” an attorney wrote
SWAT
The COPS Office and NPI held meetings with law enforcement leaders and civil rights organizations to aid in the research process
“No law enforcement agency — including the Justice Department — can effectively do its work without the trust of the public,” Attorney General Merrick Garland stated
The department also announced the cities that will be added to the National Public Safety Partnership in 2024, as well as a national summit on violent crime
“We are committed to reform and we have shown we can self-monitor,” APD Chief Harold Medina said
New reforms include reviews of every incident where officers brandish a firearm, a policy that limits the use of “pretextual stops” and revised training intended to “limit the role of bias and prejudice”
Chief Gwinn-Villaroel said no further investigations or disciplinary measures will be conducted against the officers accused of misconduct in the report
The officers entered a house without a warrant on Jan. 24, assaulting the men over a roughly 90-minute period
The investigative tool can look collectively at an agency’s stops, searches, or arrests; use of excessive force; possible discriminatory policing and more
Providing LEOs “emotional and psychological support is important to ensure that officer stress and fatigue do not contribute to constitutional violations,” the report said
The selection of a civilian head of training is one of the steps the Police Bureau agreed to take to comply with the city’s settlement with the DOJ
Karl Racine is the third consent decree monitor since the city and DOJ started the process in 2015
“Progress toward compliance is not the same as full and effective compliance that has proven durable,” DOJ lawyers said
