Civil Rights coalition denounces DOJ dismissal of consent decrees and police investigations

After the Department of Justice announced the dismissal of Consent Decrees and other police investigations across the country, national civil rights leaders and attorneys general from several states joined to denounce this action.

The Justice Department announced last Wednesday that it would drop proposed consent decrees with Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, and end investigations into police departments in Phoenix; Trenton, New Jersey; Memphis, Tennessee; Mount Vernon, New York; and Oklahoma City; as well as into the Louisiana State Police.

Details: Civil Rights coalition denounces

On Thursday, May 22, Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights met with members of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), NAACP, The Legal Defense Fund, and attorneys general Aaron D. Ford (NV), Anthony Brown (MD), Keith Ellison (MN), Kwami Raoul (IL), and Letitia James (NY).

During the press conference, Ellison started the conversation stating the DOJ’s recent decision was “wrong” and immoral”.

Many others echoed the same sentiments, concerned where the trajectory of police reform is going under the current administration.

“The Department of Justice has abandoned police reform,” said New York AG Letitia James.

The group clearly stated how they believe the DOJs action will have a detrimental effect within cities like Louisville and Minneapolis’ whose had issues with policing, citing Breonna Taylor and George Floyd’s deaths.

The Minneapolis consent decree, a court-enforced improvement plan that follows a civil rights abuse investigation, was reached after the 2020 death of Floyd.

Floyd was unarmed when police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes while he was handcuffed on the ground. The Louisville agreement was reached after the 2020 death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot by police officers while unarmed in her Kentucky home.

Both deaths sparked widespread protests in 2020.

Statement

In a statement, Wiley said the recent actions by the DOJ will also leave people vulnerable to their civil rights being violated.

“The protection and enforcement of civil rights is an inextricable foundation of strong democracies. The announcement that the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is not moving forward with consent decrees in several cities is appalling and further proves that the DOJ is no longer protecting our civil rights. Minneapolis and Louisville, where police officers killed George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, will no longer have consent decrees with their police departments, sending the message to the American people that police can violate their civil and constitutional rights — and that this regime will protect police over people,” Wiley said.

Wiley continued her statement on why the civil rights division was created and the part it should play in enforcing the nation’s federal civil rights.

“The Civil Rights Division is charged with enforcing the nation’s federal civil rights laws but is instead decimating its staff, twisting itself into a weapon against civil rights, and withdrawing from important litigation to protect them. The administration cut funds for community-based crime prevention and violence intervention, stopped critical civil rights enforcement by abandoning police reform, and dumped funds into federal law enforcement to target immigrants, denying them the right to see a judge and ‘unleashing’ law enforcement by calling for aggressive policing and harsh punishments,” Wiley continued.

What are police consent decrees?

A “police consent decree” is a legally binding agreement, or court-enforced settlement, between a city or state and the US Department of Justice to address alleged violations of the law by a police department. These decrees are often the result of investigations into police misconduct, such as excessive force or discriminatory policing. They require the police department to implement specific reforms to address the identified issues and ensure compliance with the law.

Some of the agreements required more training for police officers, policy changes to decrease the use of force and a stronger system for citizens to make complaints against officers. It also required that predominately white police departments do more to recruit people of color.

With the recent actions, there is much uncertainty about federal police reform but Wiley made certain the fight will continue on the state and local level.

“Even if the Department of Justice refuses to act on civil rights violations, there are attorneys general and mayors who refuse to abandon these efforts to make policing accountable — and the civil rights community will continue to call on state and local leaders to pursue their own reforms, hold police departments accountable, and protect their communities from harmful acts. Ending police violence must be a priority. We will not stop fighting for civil rights over wrongs, and we will not be silent in the face of this administration’s assault on all of our rights and freedoms, including the right to be free of abusive policing,” Wiley said.