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A28 u.s. news
Dialuna 15 november 2021

Residents seek role in federal probe into Minneapolis police

(AP) — Terrance Jackson If investigators find a pattern happened to Michael Brown,
remembers driving down or practice of unconstitution- you would have focused on
Lake Street in 2002 when al policing in Minneapolis, that," she said. "But in talk-
he saw police arresting his federal and city officials will ing with people, that's where
cousin for driving with an negotiate required changes, we really learned about the
invalid license. When he or a consent decree. A feder- depth of the concern about
pulled over and offered to ally appointed monitor over- fines and fees, and how they
take his cousin's car home sees progress and reports to were using the courts to vio-
to keep it from being a federal judge. Insufficient late people's rights. We would
towed, things went badly. progress or failure to follow have missed that entirely if
the decree could result in the we hadn't talked to people
One officer grabbed his hand federal government taking and heard their stories."
and bent it back "to try to get control of the department. Iris Roley, a founder of the
me to react," Jackson said. It could look similar to the Cincinnati Black United
When his shoe came off as he agreement between the Jus- Front, said her community
was being restrained, anoth- tice Department and the city played a significant role in
er officer threw it across the because the probe is ongoing. investigation remains ongo- of Ferguson, Missouri, that crafting the agreement be-
parking lot. But a former Justice Depart- ing. followed the 2014 killing of tween their city and federal
Jackson, 63, is one of more ment official, Christy Lopez, Michael Brown, a Black teen- officials after the killings
than a thousand people who said such accounts can help Pattern-or-practice investiga- ager, by a white police offi- of Jeffrey Irons and Roger
have recounted their run-ins steer investigations. And tions became a tool to com- cer. The agreement changed Ownesby Jr. by Cincinnati
with Minneapolis police to those helping gather the ci- bat police misconduct in the the Ferguson police force's officers in 2000. Roley said
activist groups that plan to vilian accounts say they think 1990s, when the acquittal of policies on the use of force, her group collected more
share their stories with U.S. the stories will make it hard four Los Angeles police of- body-worn cameras, searches than 400 accounts of po-
Justice Department officials for investigators to ignore the ficers in the beating of Rod- and seizures, and responses lice brutality and miscon-
conducting a civil rights in- abuse. ney King sparked riots in the to protests. duct from members of the
vestigation into the police city and protests across the community who were brave
force. The effort is aimed "It's one thing to see things country. After an indepen- Lopez, who led the group enough to come forward de-
at making sure community in a document. It's another dent commission determined within the Justice Depart- spite fearing retaliation.
members have a say in the thing for someone to tell King's assault was ultimately ment's Civil Rights Division "What we did when we lis-
probe launched the day af- you, 'This is what happened due to institutional failure that conducted pattern-or- tened to our community —
ter former officer Derek to me,' or 'This is what the within the Los Angeles Po- practice investigations from the Black community — we
Chauvin was convicted of police did to me,'" said Mi- lice Department, Congress 2010 to 2017, said stories took complaints and turned
murdering George Floyd. chelle Gross, a member of authorized the attorney gen- from community members complaints into training, and
one of the groups, Commu- eral to investigate whether "a can help direct investigators we took training and turned
Investigators are looking into nities United Against Police pattern or practice of conduct toward particular officers, that into policy," she said.
whether Minneapolis po- Brutality. by law enforcement officers" units, tactics or types of in-
lice have shown a "pattern or was violating people's civil teractions. The number of Roley said the agreement
practice" of policing that is "That kind of information rights. complaints and consistency brought changes to police de-
unlawful or unconstitutional. puts a face to the problem between them can alert in- partment policies, including
They are also examining the and it also shows the pattern," From the first such investi- vestigators to patterns of on its officers' use of force.
police department's use of she said. gation in Pittsburgh in 1997, unlawful policing that only But she said the document
force, including against pro- The Associated Press sub- through 2016, the Justice community members would hasn't been a cure-all, and
testers, its treatment of peo- mitted a records request to Department's Civil Rights experience, and they can then that policing continues to
ple suffering from behavioral the police department seek- Division conducted nearly 70 go verify those accounts with evolve and requires constant
health issues, its systems of ing information on Jackson's formal probes of police de- documentation from the city oversight.
accountability and whether 2002 encounter with officers, partments nationwide result- such as arrest records and
officers have engaged in dis- but a spokesman said the de- ing in 40 reform agreements, police bodycam footage, she Lopez said investigators aim
criminatory policing. partment had no record of according to agency data. said. to complete inquiries and
The inquiry could lead to a the event. The Minneapolis probe issue findings within a year,
consent decree under which was the first of three Justice That proved true in Ferguson but that it varies from case
the department would be le- The Justice Department in- Department investigations when accounts from mem- to case, with Ferguson tak-
gally required to make certain vestigation wasn't affected of local law enforcement bers of the public helped ing six months but others
changes. by the campaign for a ballot launched during the Biden Lopez's team identify issues taking years. Though it may
initiative that Minneapolis administration. It is also in- within the municipal court take another year to negoti-
A Justice Department spokes- voters rejected in early No- vestigating policing in Louis- system, which was also part ate the consent decree with
woman declined to comment vember to replace the city's ville, Kentucky, following the of the ensuing agreement. Minneapolis and get it en-
on the civil rights probe's police department with a rei- death of Breonna Taylor and tered into court, Lopez said
progress or say how much magined public safety agency in Phoenix over excessive "In Ferguson, if you had gone investigators are always aware
weight investigators might that would have relied less on force allegations. in there and just looked at of the urgency to deliver their
place on the civilian accounts armed officers. And a state lethal shootings and use of findings and kickstart the im-
that groups provide them, force, because that was what provement process.

Baltimore police officer shoots suspect in three shootings

(AP) — An off-duty po- ing near the Greektown sec- it at one of the barbers who who was not identified, was
lice officer who was get- The Baltimore Sun reports tion of Baltimore. was working in the barber not injured.
ting a haircut shot and that police are trying to de- shop, striking that barber."
killed a man who burst termine a motive linking all The third and final shoot- Harrison said detectives
into a Baltimore barber three shootings. ing happened at about 3:15 Harrison said the off-duty have linked the shooting to
shop and fatally shot a p.m. at The Bladi Style Baltimore police sergeant the two earlier ones, but he
barber, police said. Police said one victim was barber shop in Baltimore's was getting a haircut from declined to elaborate.
Police said they believe in critical condition after a Medford neighborhood. Po- another barber. The officer,
the same man was re- shooting that occurred at lice Commissioner Michael who was armed and in plain Police declined to identify
sponsible for two earlier about 2 p.m. Saturday fol- Harrison said the suspect clothes, responded quickly the names of the victims
shootings, one of them lowing an argument. Anoth- "entered the barber shop, and fatally shot the man, pending notification of fam-
fatal. er victim died from a shoot- produced a handgun, fired Harrison said. The officer, ily members.