Justice dept. finds widespread use of excessive force by Seattle police.
A federal civil-rights investigation into the Seattle Police Department has found routine and widespread use of excessive force by officers, and city and police officials were told at a stormy Thursday night meeting that they must fix the problems or face a federal lawsuit, according to two sources.
The meeting, attended by Mayor Mike McGinn, Police Chief John Diaz, members of his command staff and others, ended in raised voices and bitter accusations by city and police officials, upset at the Justice Department's findings, the sources said. One source said the language in the agency's report, to be officially released Friday, is "astoundingly critical" of the department.
The sources confirmed the city will get a chance to work with the Justice Department to address the issues, or it will face a federal lawsuit that could result in fines, penalties and even the appointment of an outside special master to oversee the Police Department.
The Justice Department's most recently announced findings, released Thursday and detailing widespread racial profiling by the Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff's Office, took more than three years. See article below...
Department of Justice letter to the Seattle police department November 2012: http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/268702-doj-letter-to-spd
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017026414_doj16m.html
Probe Finds Arizona Sheriff Violated Civil Rights.
On Thursday, the Department of Justice released the results of a three-year investigation in which authorities conclude that Arpaio and his deputies are the ones who have been breaking the law.
According to investigators, Arpaio's office was found to routinely discriminate against Latinos and retaliate against its critics, in violation of both the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act. Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, says his investigation also uncovered widespread racial profiling.
"Our expert found that Latino drivers were four to nine times more likely to be stopped than similarly situated non-Latino drivers," Perez says, adding that they were often stopped for no good cause. "This expert concluded that this case involved the most egregious racial profiling in the United States that he had ever personally observed in the course of his work."
Federal investigators made two more critical findings regarding the Maricopa County sheriff's office. The first is an illegal pattern of retaliation that they say comes straight from the top of the department.
Justice Department findings Maricopa County, AZ:
http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/274910-justice-department-findings-in-its-investigation.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/us/arizona-sheriffs-office-unfairly-targeted-latinos-justice-department-says.html