Justice Department lowers the boom on the Albuquerque Police.

[damnedifIknow]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Albuquerque, New Mexico, Police Department will undergo reform and be monitored for use of excessive force under an agreement announced on Friday between the city and the U.S. Justice Department.

The agreement follows a federal investigation that concluded the department used excessive, even deadly, force against passive civilians. People suffering from mental illness were disproportionately targeted, the investigation found.

Under the new rules, Albuquerque police will be prohibited from firing at moving vehicles, required to wear body cameras to record their encounters and limited in their use of electronic control weapons, such as tasers."

The Justice Department inquiry, which was prompted by public complaints, concluded that a majority of 20 fatal officer-involved-shootings from 2009 to 2012 were unconstitutional. In one high profile case, a U.S. veteran of the Iraq war suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder was killed in an incident that led to a $10 million civil judgment against the city."

A U.S. Department of Justice report cited Albuquerque police in April for engaging in a “pattern and practice” of using excessive force, and Police Chief Gorden Eden told officers the following month they could no longer carry their personal weapons – including AR-15s – in the field.

The DOJ report found officers would purchase expensive weapons they viewed as “status symbols.”

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/01/1340812/-Justice-Department-lowers-the-boom-on-the-Albuquerque-Police

[randys1]

1. Agreement? I am not familiar with what powers Justice has over these municipalities

but can you imagine an agreement with Ferguson?

[damnedifIknow]

3. I see this as a good sign

People are talking and maybe we are starting to see movement on this issue. Don't stop with just this PD though.

[Warpy]

13. They could have brought civil rights charges against specific cops

and against the department as a whole. The DOJ could have taken it over completely had the department not cooperated. They can be enormous PIAs to renegade departments. You bet there was an agreement, those boys want to keep their jobs.

I see this as a test case in a small city with a big problem. The cops here were equal opportunity killers, race was never a factor. Being mentally ill and a general annoyance was the factor.

I hope this was just the first shot in a long war against bad police departments. The cops in Ferguson have definitely shown themselves to be overarmed and underintelligent. The cops in NYC have been running amok for decades.

Selling them Robo Cop suits and military hardware has not helped.

[Takket]

2. and the criminal prosecutions for murder will occur... when?

[damnedifIknow]

4. Exactly

[randys1]

5. When, not if, Ferguson Grand Jury does NOT indict the murderer, can JD ride into town

and indict him on a federal charge of murder?

[ncjustice80]

15. Doesnt quite work that away iirc.

It has to be either a civil rights violation(whichbtje FBI is sadly setting up to say they have insufficient proof) or cross state linez. They need to just indict him for murder and have a trial.

[randys1]

20. They will set this up so the family wont have a good wrongful death lawsuit either

If climate change and the oligarchic fascism which runs this country were not literally about to kill us all, I would say we need to fix this race problem once and for all, somehow.

But we have problems that will overtake this, easy for me to say I know, but we do.

Win ugly or lose pretty, who said that?

I think America is under attack and we need help from the UN

[BrotherIvan]

6. Every PD in the country needs this

[heaven05]

7. now

on to Ferguson DOJ. Oh I forgot no civil rights charges so no investigation. I stay amazed at the inequity apparent in this fucking system. Most of the victims of the Alburquerque police were of what race and culture? Got to go to a records search....I'll be back..... Okay I found the Iraqi vet killed by Alburquerque police, it speaks volumes. Back to search.......

[valerief]

8. I wonder if they'll be required to turn their cameras on. nt

[PatSeg]

9. K&R

[Docross]

10. Way to go

Way to go Mr. Holder!

[99th_Monkey]

11. Well that's a great start.

I hope they follow through, and .. you know .. like fire and/or jail those cops
that don't "get the message", and continue their thuggery towards citizens.

[Nobel_Twaddle_III]

12. I crossed Albuquerque of the potential retirement cities because of the city Police

[Warpy]

17. You can't beat the climate, though

and it's the #1 place to retire if all you have is Social Security and meager savings, although I'd suggest retiring in one of the small towns, instead, where you get more bang for the real estate or rental buck.

Ordinary folks going about their business don't get hassled here, unlike Ferguson where the cops think black folks are all guilty of something. If you're mentally ill and have refused treatment, you are at the greatest risk here.

[Nobel_Twaddle_III]

18. well it's meger to me, but I have 14 more years to work.

I plan on working 10 of those years, just do not know what ones they will be.
I am not tied to Tucson, and my good friend here in Washington has 23 years left to work, but he has 11 years 8 months to max his retirement here, and is open to a new city at that time.
.
I have 5 months left on my current contract, then I have no idea where I will be. spending a few months floating in the condo pool in Tucson would be horrible.
.
so anyway I am rambling, I am worried about mental deterioration - (heredity), so this is one of the criteria.
.
After watching cops murder mentally ill homeless man, NM is off the list.

[tblue37]

14. Despite this finding,

The Justice Department inquiry, which was prompted by public complaints, concluded that a majority of 20 fatal officer-involved-shootings from 2009 to 2012 were unconstitutional.

I just know that in each of those unconstitutional killings of citizens, an internal police investigation found the killings "justified" and fully exonerated the guilty cops.

[elias49]

16. Bravo! This is a big step

I hope it happens in Arizona next.
Arpaio and his minions need to get slapped.

[scarystuffyo]

19. Make it a federal law.. what's stopping it? Why hasn't a Congress and the POTUS done this?

"required to wear body cameras to record their encounters "