HuffPo | In recent years, Cleveland police officers have punched a 13-year-old
boy who was in handcuffs for shoplifting and shot at an unarmed
kidnapping victim who was wearing only his underwear, according to
disturbing allegations released Thursday by the Justice Department. The
agency's investigation found that officers in Cleveland routinely use
unjustifiable force against not only criminals and suspects, but also
innocent victims of crimes.
The so-called “pattern or practice” report
from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division was released
Thursday afternoon as DOJ and the city announced plans to develop a
court-enforceable agreement that would impose an independent monitor on
the Cleveland Division of Police.
"Accountability and legitimacy
are essential for communities to trust their police departments, and for
there to be genuine collaboration between police and the citizens they
serve,” said Attorney General Eric Holder in a press conference on
Thursday.
Holder announced the measure during his trip to
Cleveland, where police officers fatally shot an unarmed black child
last month. In Cleveland, Holder has attended a series of meetings about
rebuilding community trust between law enforcement and the public, even
as protests erupted nationwide over the non-indictment of police
officers who killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner
in New York City. Following his visit to Cleveland, Holder intends to
visit Chicago and Philadelphia, as well as Memphis, Tennessee, and
Oakland, California, for additional roundtable meetings.
In his
remarks Thursday, Holder said that he and President Barack Obama believe
there is more to be done on the issue of use of lethal force by police
departments.
The Justice Department began investigating the use of force in Cleveland's police division in March 2013.
A few months prior, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson had requested that
the agency look into the issue. Jackson's request came after a
high-profile police chase in November 2012 that resulted in Cleveland
police dispatching at least 62 vehicles, firing 137 bullets and killing two unarmed black suspects, who each sustained more than 20 gunshot wounds.
