Alexandria, Virginia – The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division announced today that it is dismissing two lawsuits with preliminary consent decrees: Louisville, Kentucky and Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is also closing its investigations into and retracting the Biden Administration’s findings of constitutional violations on the part of six police departments: Phoenix, Arizona; Trenton, New Jersey; Memphis, Tennessee; Mount Vernon, New York; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and the Louisiana State Police.
NAPO strongly supports this move by the Civil Rights Division, which reflects the recommendations that we have been calling for with the DOJ and the Administration. Consent decrees have done lasting harm to state and local police departments. Consent decrees often exemplify a top-down, Washington knows best, one-size-fits all, coercive approach to how state and local policing should be done, what officers should look like, and even what they should think and believe. Such agreements do not instill a sense of partnership between the DOJ and the law enforcement agencies they address, which affects the efficacy of the consent decrees. They also have deleterious effects on officer morale and public safety as rank-and-file officers feel attacked and unsupported by their governments and political officials.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon made clear in the announcement that under her leadership the Civil Rights Division is taking a new approach to supporting jurisdictions that want to improve their state or local police departments. Instead of micromanaging state and local law enforcement agencies, the DOJ will support and bolster the collaborative programs offered by the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), including voluntary reviews of police departments, technical assistance, and grants.
NAPO will continue to work with the DOJ and the Civil Rights Division as they continue to review on-going consent decrees, particularly those of police departments whose officers we represent, to ensure that the interests of state and local agencies in managing their own affairs is protected.