Special Report: How U.S. Justice Department disarmed its police reform effort

[Dill]

(10-02-2020, 04:53 PM)GMDino Wrote: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-police-justice-specialreport/special-report-how-u-s-justice-department-disarmed-its-police-reform-effort-idUSKBN26N2VE
In July, after protesters and police clashed, Seattle forbade its officers from using pepper spray, tear gas and projectile launchers on crowds. Ordinarily, cities are free to restrict the weapons their officers use.

This time, Seattle was blocked - by the Justice Department.

The reason: Seattle’s police department is operating under a 2012 consent decree imposed after the Justice Department found officers were using “unnecessary, excessive force.” As is typical, the decree gives Justice the authority to object whenever Seattle changes its use-of-force rules. Such provisions are normally used to prevent backsliding. The Justice Department, now run by Barr, invoked the decree to nix Seattle’s tighter weapons rules.

A federal judge temporarily put Seattle’s new rules on hold. A spokesman for the city declined to comment on the case.
“The consent decree was intended to be a tool the community could use to reform police departments,” said Brandy Grant, executive director of Seattle’s Community Police Commission, a city body that monitors the police. “Now we’re worried they could be weaponized to block reforms.”

This is the development which interests me.