Month: December 2014

After the shooting by 12 year old child Tamir Rice with a toy gun  on November 23, 2014 by Cleveland Police Officer Timothy Loehmann, the U.S. Department of Justice had ordered an investigation of the Cleveland Police Department’s practices.   The DOJ released this report on December 4, 2014.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported: “The 58-page letter paints a woeful portrait of rogue officers pulling their guns and firing at suspects without justifiable cause, of beating defenseless suspects already in handcuffs, and of covering up their actions by failing to write accurate police reports — if they write any reports at all.”

The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division noted that its report was separate than any criminal investigation ongoing.

In the DOJ’s report, it stated that:

“We opened our investigation after a series of incidents of potential excessive force revealed a rift between CDP and certain segments of the communities it serves. An investigation into one of those incidents by the Ohio Attorney General concluded that the incident was the result of a ‘systemic failure’ by CDP. Numerous leaders and organizations in Cleveland called on us to open an investigation into CDP, including a member of the U.S. Congress, leaders of several different religious communities, civil rights and community groups, and ultimately you, Mayor Jackson. Our investigation found that the concerns raised by community members, civic leaders, and other law enforcement agencies are well-founded. We recognize the challenges faced by officers in Cleveland and in communities across the nation every day. Policing can be dangerous. At times, officers must use force, including deadly force, to protect lives, including their own. The use of force by police should be guided by a respect for human life and human dignity, the need to protect public safety, and the duty to protect individuals from unreasonable seizures under the Fourth Amendment. A significant amount of the force used by CDP officers falls short of these standards. Although CDP has taken some steps to improve the Division’s use of force policies and procedures, these initiatives, by themselves, have been insufficient. The need for sustainable reform is highlighted by the fact that just over a decade ago the Department of Justice completed its first investigation of the Cleveland Division of Police. That investigation raised concerns and resulted in recommendations that are starkly similar to the findings in this letter. The voluntary reforms undertaken at that time did not create the systems of accountability necessary to ensure a longterm remedy to these issues.”

In addition, other media reports stated that Officer Timothy Loehmann had been judged unfit by other police departments, prior to joining the Cleveland police, including an assessment in Independence, Ohio that Timothy Loehmann “would not be able to substantially cope or make good decisions during or resulting from any other stressful situation.”

Responsible for Equality And Liberty defends the right of equal justice for all people, and rejects the use of authority as a tool of oppression to belittle and deny justice to people in the United States of America, and anywhere in the world.