Justice Department opens probe of police in small Mississippi city over alleged civil rights abuses
1 year, 2 months ago

Justice Department opens probe of police in small Mississippi city over alleged civil rights abuses

Associated Press  

— The U.S. Justice Department launched an investigation Wednesday into alleged civil rights violations by police in a majority Black Mississippi city, stepping in following accusations that officers used excessive force and arrested people without justification. The civil rights organization had previously obtained an audio recording of then-Lexington Police Chief Sam Dobbins using racial slurs and talking about how many people he had killed in the line of duty. If the Justice Department concludes that police officers committed the alleged civil rights violations, it could bring a lawsuit seeking court-ordered changes to the department. Clarke noted the case of six white former law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty in August to state and federal crimes for torturing two Black men in Rankin County, Mississippi “This investigation should send a clear message to small and mid-size police departments that they are not exempt from the obligation to provide fair, effective and non-discriminatory policing,” Clarke said.

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History of this topic

Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Trending News
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing

The Independent  

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The Justice Department report released in March 2023 said the Louisville police …

Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Top News
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing

Associated Press  

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The U.S. Justice Department and the city of Louisville have reached an agreement to reform the city’s police force after an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor, officials said Thursday. The Justice Department report released in March 2023 said the Louisville police department “discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities,” uses excessive …

DOJ, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor
4 weeks ago

DOJ, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor

CNN  

Louisville, Kentucky AP — The US Justice Department and the city of Louisville have reached an agreement to reform the city’s police force after an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor, officials said Thursday. The Justice Department report released in March 2023 said the Louisville police department “discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities,” uses …

US federal probe finds Memphis police discriminate against African Americans
1 month ago

US federal probe finds Memphis police discriminate against African Americans

China Daily  

FILE PHOTO: Former Memphis police officers who have been charged in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols appear during an arraignment hearing at Shelby County courthouse in Memphis, Tennessee, US, February 17, 2023. HOUSTON -- Federal investigators have found the Memphis Police Department has unlawfully discriminated against African Americans, said the US Department of Justice in an investigation report on …

US federal probe finds Memphis police discriminate against African Americans
1 month ago

US federal probe finds Memphis police discriminate against African Americans

China Daily  

FILE PHOTO: Former Memphis police officers who have been charged in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols appear during an arraignment hearing at Shelby County courthouse in Memphis, Tennessee, US, February 17, 2023. HOUSTON -- Federal investigators have found the Memphis Police Department has unlawfully discriminated against African Americans, said the US Department of Justice in an investigation report on …

Memphis police department: City waiting on DOJ investigation into how officers use force on minorities
Trending News
1 month ago

Memphis police department: City waiting on DOJ investigation into how officers use force on minorities

CNN  

Memphis, Tennessee AP — Memphis will not agree to negotiate federal oversight of its police department until it can review and challenge results of a yet-to-be-released Department of Justice investigation into how its officers use force and treat minorities, according to a letter released by the city on Wednesday. In the letter to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Memphis …

Memphis police use excessive force and discriminate against Black people, Justice Department finds
1 month ago

Memphis police use excessive force and discriminate against Black people, Justice Department finds

LA Times  

Members of the Memphis Police Department work a crime scene. A U.S. Department of Justice investigation found that Memphis police use excessive force and discriminate against Black people. The Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people, according to the findings of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation launched after the beating death of Tyre Nichols after …

Residents of a small Mississippi town respond to a scathing Justice Department report on policing
3 months, 1 week ago

Residents of a small Mississippi town respond to a scathing Justice Department report on policing

Associated Press  

— Some residents of a small Mississippi town where the Justice Department found severe problems with excessive and racially disproportionate policing said they were unaware of the ongoing issues, while others said harassment from officers was a part everyday of life. In a report released Thursday on Lexington, about 60 miles north of Jackson, the Justice Department said it found …

DOJ Finds Mississippi Police Department Violates Rights Of Black Residents
3 months, 1 week ago

DOJ Finds Mississippi Police Department Violates Rights Of Black Residents

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING The police department in a majority-Black town in Mississippi has consistently violated the rights of residents with illegal arrests, as well as by retaliating against department critics, according to a Department of Justice report released Thursday. The police department “unlawfully” discriminates against Black people, United States Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said during a press conference. “Black …

Justice probe finds pervasive abuse and discrimination by police in small Mississippi city
3 months, 1 week ago

Justice probe finds pervasive abuse and discrimination by police in small Mississippi city

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Police in a majority-Black Mississippi city discriminate against Black people, use excessive force and retaliate against critics, the Justice Department said Thursday in a scathing report detailing a slew of civil rights abuses by law enforcement in one of America’s poorest counties. The Lexington Police Department “has created a system where officers can relentlessly violate the law,” according …

Police in this small, majority-Black Southern city abuse Black people, Justice Department finds
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Police in this small, majority-Black Southern city abuse Black people, Justice Department finds

LA Times  

Police in Lexington, Miss., discriminate against Black people, use excessive force and retaliate against critics, the U.S. Justice Department said in a scathing report. Police in a majority-Black Mississippi city discriminate against Black people, use excessive force and retaliate against critics, the U.S. Justice Department said in a scathing report detailing a slew of civil rights abuses by law enforcement …

Attorneys say other victims could sue a Mississippi sheriff’s department over brutality
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Attorneys say other victims could sue a Mississippi sheriff’s department over brutality

Associated Press  

— Attorneys for two Black men who were tortured by Mississippi law enforcement officers said Monday that they expect to file more lawsuits on behalf of other people who say they were brutalized by officers from the same sheriff’s department. The Justice Department said Thursday that it was opening a civil rights investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department. Attorneys …

Justice Department opens civil rights probe of sheriff's office after torture of 2 Black men
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Justice Department opens civil rights probe of sheriff's office after torture of 2 Black men

Associated Press  

— The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into a Mississippi sheriff’s department whose officers tortured two Black men in a racist attack that included beatings, repeated use of stun guns and assaults with a sex toy before one of the victims was shot in the mouth, officials said Thursday. AP AUDIO: Justice Department opens civil rights probe …

Justice Department opens civil rights probe into sheriff’s office after torture of 2 Black men
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Justice Department opens civil rights probe into sheriff’s office after torture of 2 Black men

LA Times  

Gen. Merrick Garland speaks at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington on Sept. 12. The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into a Mississippi sheriff’s department whose officers tortured two Black men in a case that drew condemnation from top U.S. law enforcement officials, including Atty. The Justice Department will investigate whether the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department …

How Ferguson elevated the profile of the Justice Department's civil rights enforcers
4 months, 3 weeks ago

How Ferguson elevated the profile of the Justice Department's civil rights enforcers

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — As the first images out of Ferguson, Missouri surfaced 10 years ago — the bloodied body of a man left for hours in the street beneath white sheets, protesters smashing car windows and looting stores — it didn’t take long for the federal government to see a role for itself. Acting with notable haste, the FBI within two …

Justice Department investigates possible civil rights violations by police in New Jersey capital
1 year, 2 months ago

Justice Department investigates possible civil rights violations by police in New Jersey capital

Associated Press  

TRENTON, N.J. — The U.S. Justice Department opened an investigation Tuesday into possible civil rights violations by the police department in New Jersey’s capital city. “The Justice Department will conduct a full and fair investigation into these allegations, and if we substantiate those violations, the department will take appropriate action to remedy them.” Democratic Mayor Reed Gusciora, Police Director Steve …

Justice Department investigating Memphis policing methods, months after Tyre Nichols’ death
1 year, 5 months ago

Justice Department investigating Memphis policing methods, months after Tyre Nichols’ death

Associated Press  

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday it is investigating how Memphis Police Department officers use force and conduct arrests, nearly seven months after the violent beating of Tyre Nichols by five officers after a traffic stop strengthened nationwide calls for police reform. Federal authorities will look collectively at the Memphis Police Department’s “pattern or practice” of …

US Justice Department opens civil rights probe into Memphis policing
1 year, 5 months ago

US Justice Department opens civil rights probe into Memphis policing

Al Jazeera  

The investigation centres on questions of discrimination in the wake of the beating death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. The US Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the city of Memphis and its police department, months after the beating death of a 29-year-old Black motorist catapulted local law-enforcement tactics into the national spotlight. “City and police department …

Mississippi civil rights lawyer arrested filming traffic stop, attorney says
1 year, 6 months ago

Mississippi civil rights lawyer arrested filming traffic stop, attorney says

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A Mississippi civil rights …

Mississippi civil rights lawyer arrested filming traffic stop, attorney says
1 year, 6 months ago

Mississippi civil rights lawyer arrested filming traffic stop, attorney says

Associated Press  

— A Mississippi civil rights lawyer was arrested Saturday after filming a traffic stop conducted by officers from a police department she is suing in federal court, her attorney says. Jill Collen Jefferson is the president of JULIAN, the civil rights organization that filed a federal lawsuit last year against the Lexington Police Department on behalf of a group of …

Black man shot in the mouth by Mississippi deputy to file federal civil rights lawsuit
1 year, 7 months ago

Black man shot in the mouth by Mississippi deputy to file federal civil rights lawsuit

Associated Press  

— Two men — one of whom was shot in the mouth by a law enforcement officer — announced on Tuesday that they will file a federal civil rights lawsuit against a Mississippi sheriff’s department alleging a pattern of excessive force against Black people. The upcoming lawsuit comes amid an ongoing Justice Department civil rights investigation into the encounter between …

Tyre Nichols death spurs Justice Department police review
1 year, 10 months ago

Tyre Nichols death spurs Justice Department police review

Associated Press  

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it will review the Memphis Police Department policies on the use of force, de-escalation strategies and specialized units in response to the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols during an arrest. “In the wake of Tyre Nichols’s tragic death, the Justice Department has heard from police chiefs across the country who are …

Justice Department investigating Memphis man’s arrest, death
1 year, 11 months ago

Justice Department investigating Memphis man’s arrest, death

Associated Press  

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the arrest of Tyre Nichols, who died days after a confrontation with Memphis Department Police Officers during a traffic stop, officials said Wednesday. The U.S. attorney’s office released a statement saying the FBI’s field office in Memphis and the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department …

DOJ: Civil rights probe targets suburban NYC police force
3 years, 1 month ago

DOJ: Civil rights probe targets suburban NYC police force

Associated Press  

Federal prosecutors announced a civil rights investigation Friday into a police department in suburban New York City accused of using excessive force and conducting illegal strip searches. The U.S. Justice Department will examine whether the Mount Vernon Police Department has engaged in “pattern or practice of discriminatory policing,” authorities said. “Police officers have tough jobs, and so many do their …

Rep. Maxine Waters again calls for federal probe of gang-like deputy groups
3 years, 2 months ago

Rep. Maxine Waters again calls for federal probe of gang-like deputy groups

LA Times  

Rep. Maxine Waters this week requested again that the U.S. Department of Justice launch a civil rights investigation into gang-like groups of L.A. County sheriff’s deputies. Rep. Maxine Waters this week reissued her request that the U.S. Department of Justice launch a civil rights investigation into gang-like groups of deputies in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Waters criticized Sheriff …

Federal govt launches civil rights probe of Georgia prisons
3 years, 3 months ago

Federal govt launches civil rights probe of Georgia prisons

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday announced a statewide civil rights investigation into Georgia prisons, citing particular concern about violence. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who oversees the department’s civil rights division, said the investigation will be comprehensive but will focus on “harm to prisoners resulting from prisoner-on-prisoner violence.” It will also look into sexual abuse of …

NAACP: Justice must probe arrest threats against Texas Dems
3 years, 4 months ago

NAACP: Justice must probe arrest threats against Texas Dems

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The NAACP, one of the nation’s leading civil rights groups, is urging the Justice Department to investigate whether a federal crime was being committed when Texas Republicans threatened to have their Democratic colleagues arrested for refusing to attend a legislative session in an effort to try and block a sweeping elections overhaul bill that makes it harder to …

US Justice Dept launches investigation into Phoenix police force
3 years, 5 months ago

US Justice Dept launches investigation into Phoenix police force

Al Jazeera  

US Attorney General Merrick Garland opens a probe looking into allegations of police using unlawful excessive force and retaliation. The US Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether police in Phoenix unlawfully have used deadly force, retaliated against peaceful protesters and violated the rights of homeless people in the latest such inquiry involving a major American city, officials said …

AP: Louisiana police unit probed over Black driver arrests
3 years, 6 months ago

AP: Louisiana police unit probed over Black driver arrests

Associated Press  

— The same Louisiana State Police unit whose troopers stunned, punched and dragged Ronald Greene on video during a deadly 2019 arrest is now under internal investigation by a secret panel over whether its officers are systematically targeting Black motorists for abuse. “I don’t want to see this happen to nobody — not to my worst enemy.” The panel began …

US police release footage of Black man’s violent 2019 arrest
3 years, 7 months ago

US police release footage of Black man’s violent 2019 arrest

Al Jazeera  

Ronald Greene was shackled, beaten and forced to stay face-down during arrest in Louisiana, body-camera footage shows. Police in the US state of Louisiana have released footage showing the violent arrest two years ago of a Black man who was dragged out of his car, shackled and beaten, renewing calls for an end to police violence against Black people in …

Columbus mayor requests federal probe of police force
3 years, 8 months ago

Columbus mayor requests federal probe of police force

Associated Press  

COLUMBUS, Ohio — While Ohio’s capital city has made significant progress enacting changes to its police department, the city needs additional help because of “fierce opposition” to reform within the agency, city leaders said Wednesday as they requested a Justice Department investigation following a series of police killings of Black people and other controversies. “Simply put: We need to change …

US Justice Department launches investigation of Louisville police
3 years, 8 months ago

US Justice Department launches investigation of Louisville police

Al Jazeera  

The probe comes a year after the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was shot during a police raid at her home. The US Justice Department on Monday launched a probe of the Louisville, Kentucky, police department whose officers last year shot and killed Black woman Breonna Taylor during a botched raid, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “The …

Garland announces Justice Department investigation into the Louisville Police Department
3 years, 8 months ago

Garland announces Justice Department investigation into the Louisville Police Department

CNN  

Washington CNN — Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday announced a Justice Department investigation into the practices of the Louisville Police Department. Garland, speaking at the Justice Department’s headquarters, referred to Taylor during his announcement of the investigation, which he said “will assess whether engages in a pattern or practice of using unreasonable force, including with respect to people involved …

Justice Department to investigate Minneapolis police after Chauvin verdict
3 years, 8 months ago

Justice Department to investigate Minneapolis police after Chauvin verdict

LA Times  

Gen. Merrick Garland announced an investigation into Minneapolis police after an ex-officer was convicted of murdering George Floyd. The Justice Department announced it was launching a broad investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department on Wednesday, a day after a white former officer was convicted of murdering George Floyd, a Black man, while arresting him last year. Gen. Merrick Garland announced …

Justice Dept.: Sedition charge may apply to protest violence
4 years, 3 months ago

Justice Dept.: Sedition charge may apply to protest violence

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — In a memo to U.S. attorneys Thursday obtained by The Associated Press, the Justice Department emphasized that federal prosecutors should aggressively go after demonstrators who cause violence — and even sedition charges could potentially apply. In January, for example, the department brought federal hate crime charges against a woman accused of slapping three Orthodox Jewish women in one …

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