Justice Department Finds Cleveland Police Has History of Excessive Force

One week after 12-year-old Tamir Rice was killed by Cleveland police for holding a toy gun, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that an investigation into the city’s police force found a lengthy history of poor training, excessive force, and abuse. On Thursday, Eric Holder stated the department has used “unreasonable and unnecessary use of force”.

Cleveland police excessive force

The abuses in Cleveland that Holder highlighted are many of the causes of friction in minorities communities with the police around the country. The use of excessive force like shooting, the “unnecessary, excessive or retaliatory use of less lethal force” involving tasers, chemical spray and fists; excessive force against mentally ill people; and tactics that have escalated encounters into confrontations where use of force became inevitable.

“Cleveland officers are not provided with adequate training, policy guidance, support and supervision,” the Justice Department concluded in its report.

As a result of the report, the Cleveland police agreed to work with the Justice Department to improve its police department with a settlement known as a consent decree. This will tighten and govern policies on use of force and subject the police to oversight by an independent monitor. Consent decrees in other cities, including Seattle, Detroit, New Orleans and Albuquerque, were put into effect after investigations into questionable police violence and other abusive practices.

“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,” Mr. Holder said in a statement. “Although the issues in Cleveland are complex, and the problems longstanding, we have seen in city after city where we have been engaged that meaningful change is possible.”