Eric Holder Announces ‘Comprehensive’ Remedy to Excessive Police Practices

“After a thorough and independent review, the Department of Justice has completed its civil pattern or practice investigation into the Cleveland Division of Police. That investigation spanned more than a year and a half and it was launched in response to a series of troubling, high-profile use-of-force incidents, as well as by numerous public calls for a federal investigation by civic leaders, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, and by Mayor Jackson.

Since March 2013, the Justice Department has closely examined nearly 600 use-of-force incidents that occurred between 2010 and 2013, including incidents involving the use of lethal and less-than-lethal force. We have determined that there is reasonable cause to believe that the Cleveland Division of Police engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force and as a result of systemic deficiencies, including insufficient accountability, inadequate training and equipment, ineffective policies, and inadequate engagement in the community. Fortunately, today, I can announce that the Department of Justice and the city of Cleveland have come together to set in motion a process that will remedy these issues in a comprehensive and a court-enforceable manner.

Under Mayor Jackson’s leadership, the city has acknowledged that the department’s findings raise issues of importance to people throughout this community. And together, we have agreed to a statement of principles that will lead to a court-enforceable consent decree, including an independent monitor who will oversee the implementation of sustainable reforms, assess compliance based on objective measures, and ensure that robust new policies and practices will result in more effective and constitutional policing.

We recognize, of course, that this process will be both difficult and it will be complex. It will demand engagement and input from the brave law enforcement officers who serve on the front lines, Cleveland residents, civic leaders, and other community stakeholders. It will require sustained and collaborative effort toward clear, concrete objectives to build trust, to close gaps, and to forge stronger relationships. We understand that the progress we seek will not come overnight. But I am confident that the city of Cleveland and the United States Department of Justice will move forward together as committed partners.

And this joint statement of principles, and eventual consent decree, will provide what I believe is a solid foundation for meaningful steps forward so that we can enable all of the residents of Cleveland to have full confidence in the courageous public servants who work every day to keep them safe, and so that we can empower those dedicated women and men in blue to address persistent challenges, to obtain the training and other resources they need to do their jobs safely and effectively, and ultimately to become the outstanding, world-class police force that this great city deserves.

This process continues today with this important announcement, and with the roundtable discussion I will convene this afternoon. All of the leaders here who will be a part of that conversation understand that accountability and legitimacy are essential for communities to trust their police departments and for there to be genuine collaboration between police and the citizens that they serve. As the brother of a retired police officer, I know in a very personal way how brave these public servants are. It is for their sake as well that we must seek to heal the breakdowns that we have seen.”