Common Dreams - A nearly two-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice is confirming what many residents of Cleveland—who have protested the killing of [Tamir] Rice and others—have long charged: the Cleveland Police Department has a "pattern or practice of unreasonable and unnecessary use of force" and violates the civil rights of local residents.
However, there is a key point of investigation missing from the report: racism in the police department.
The report states "we are making no finding regarding racial profiling," despite acknowledging that "many African-Americans reported that they believe CDP officers are verbally and physically aggressive towards them because of their race."
The population of Cleveland is 53 percent black and 37 percent white, but its police department is just 25 percent black and 65 percent white.
The report does, however, condemn the CDP for a host of systemic abuses, such as "unnecessary and excessive use of deadly force, including shootings and head strikes with impact weapons." The DOJ writes: "we found incidents of CDP officers firing their guns at people who do not pose an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to officers or others and using guns in a careless and dangerous manner, including hitting people on the head with their guns, in circumstances where deadly force is not justified."
The DOJ says this excessive force is not limited to guns, but also includes "tasers, chemical spray, and fists." According to the report, violent force targets "persons who are mentally ill or in crisis," ultimately leading to situations that are "chaotic and dangerous." However, the report notes a "deeply troubling" trend in which investigators of police misconduct have the goal of "casting the accused officer in the most positive light possible," which "cuts at the heart of accountability."
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