Justice Department finds Cleveland police has history of excessive force

One week after Cleveland police killed 12‑year‑old Tamir Rice for holding a toy gun, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that federal investigators had found a long history of poor training, excessive force, and abuse within the department.

On Thursday, Eric Holder stated the department has used “unreasonable and unnecessary use of force”.

Cleveland police excessive force report

The abuses in Cleveland that Holder highlighted are causes of friction in communities of color with the police.

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.

Reforms

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.

Federal investigators prompted consent decrees in Seattle, Detroit, New Orleans, and Albuquerque after uncovering questionable police violence and other abusive practices.

“Accountability and legitimacy are essential for communities to trust their police departments. 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.”