The Ferguson lawmaker wasn’t painting the St. Louis County officers as being perfect, however, as he noted that their “militarized” response to protesters following Brown’s death was out of line.
Clay’s call for the force to be disbanded comes at the same time that the Justice Department found the Cleveland Police Department guilty of using excessive force and the “employment of poor and dangerous tactics.”
In a detailed report, the Justice Department “specifically noted how African-Americans view the department as targeting the African-American community for excessive force and brutality,” as Atlanta Blackstar reported. “The Justice Department found that not only do Cleveland police officers too often use unnecessary and unreasonable force in violation of the Constitution, but that ‘supervisors tolerate this behavior and, in some cases, endorse it.’ “
After one Cleveland officer fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice for holding a toy gun, the community is hopeful that this report will help lead to an indictment for the officer who killed an African-American child.
While the Cleveland police force will not be disbanded, an independent third party will monitor it.
Meanwhile, Clay also believes some major changes need to be made when it comes to the very nature of police shooting investigations.
The Ferguson lawmaker said he is “not comfortable” with prosecutors handling police shootings and is going to make a push for “referring all police shootings to the U.S. Attorney.”
Article Appeared @http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/12/05/justice-dept-finds-cleveland-police-incompetent-ferguson-lawmaker-hopes-will-happen-city/