The U.S. government on Monday announced that it will investigate the San Francisco Police Department to determine if there is excessive use of force there, a question that arose after an African American man was shot to death by officers last December.
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Those expected to be at Monday’s news conference include Suhr; San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee; Brian Stretch, the acting US attorney for the northern district of California; and Ronald Davis, director of the department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
The DOJ stated that they started the investigation after the San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Police Chief Gregory Suhr requested them to do more comprehensive review about the case. The police department’s participation is voluntary, though chief Greg Suhr says he and his officers will cooperate fully.
The review comes amid calls for the chief’s removal sparked when five officers opened fire and killed Mario Woods, 26, in the city’s Bayview neighborhood on December 2. The department said only one of the officers involved is white. If their final recommendations are not accepted by San Francisco police, the department can launch a separate civil rights probe, which would result in court mandated changes. Louis criminal justice professor David Klinger.
The images show several officers confronting Woods, who had been reported as a suspect in an earlier assault and was allegedly armed with a knife, as he stood against a wall. They said they hope to find ways to help the department bridge the gap between officers and the community.
Family members, who say Woods had struggled with mental health issues, have also filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city.
Today, federal officials said they will step in to take a look at SFPD from top to bottom, everything from officer training and use of force, to discipline and misconduct.
“The Department of Justice is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of law enforcement throughout the United States, and this Collaborative Reform Initiative is a vital component of that effort”, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement. The group will review San Francisco police training and practices.
In May last year, the Justice Dept opened a similar investigation into Baltimore’s police force following the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered a snapped spine while being transported unrestrained in the rear of a police van.
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