Propublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates power abuse. Sign up and receive the biggest story as soon as it’s published.
Two cities in Minneapolis, Kentucky, and Louisville, were quickly attracting attention when news broke in January that the Trump Justice Department was frozen in critical work on civil rights lawsuits, including police reform cases.
Both locations were at the forefront of police killings entering a court mandatory agreement to overhaul police after calculating race and policing nationwide.
However, it is clear that the regime’s movements can be felt far beyond these two cities. In fact, Propublica reviews have raised questions about police reform efforts in at least eight other communities across the country. The need for these location changes was documented in a gust of a quest released by the Justice Department in President Joe Biden’s final year. All probes have found “patterns or practices” of illegal behavior that were routine enough to encourage reform.
Federal officials investigating eight agencies, from Phoenix, New Jersey to Trenton, found officers who have sexual contact with sex workers during unfair killings, excessive force, debtor prisons, retaliation against police critics, racism, illegal strip searches and undercover investigations.
Such findings are usually the first step into the department that agrees to federal oversight and reform of court orders. For many years, the DOJ has praised such a contract known as the Consent Order for the department for reducing unnecessary use, reducing crime rates and improving its response to people with behavioral health needs. However, President Donald Trump’s Justice Department ordered civil rights lawyers to suspend such work until further notice, effectively regaining the limited approach he took during his first term. Department officials did not answer questions about the suspension or how long it was in effect.
For now, that means reform efforts are up to local leadership. This is the dynamic that experts portray poor harbingers for communities with a long history of police abuse.
Cliff Johnson, Mississippi lawyer and director of the MacArthur Judicial Center, a nonprofit legal organisation, was unoptimistic.
“These DOJ reports can sometimes lead local governments, police departments and other criminals to come to Jesus, Johnson said.
Louisiana leaders, for example, have denounced the Department of Justice report, finding patterns of questionableness in the way state police used their power over civilians. Gov. Jeff Landry said the report was an attempt by the Biden administration to “reduce services and exceptionality” of state police. And state attorney general Liz Maril said the Justice Department is “used to advance the political agenda.”
The report was partially spurred by the 2019 death of Ronald Green, who was killed while in Louisiana State Police custody. The officer repeatedly shocked him with a taser, dragging him with the bondage at his ankle, then lowering him into his face on the road. Some officers disabled or muted body cameras during the incident. The Louisianatroopers claimed that Greene died when the car crashed after a high-speed pursuit. When Associated Press acquired and published body camera footage of the incident, the department was forced to change the story.
Federal agents discovered that the episode was not an outlier. Reports showed that department officials used tasers without warning and did not give people the opportunity to follow before using their power to those who were detained or pose no threat.
A Louisiana State Police spokesman did not answer questions about the findings of the report, but said the agency is working to improve relationships with citizens and other stakeholders. Murrill’s office declined to comment as Landry’s Office did not respond to Propublica’s questions regarding the report and state responses.
It could also be a consequence of the Department of Justice’s departure from police accountability, crossing the state line in Lexington, Mississippi. Department officials said residents were hesitant to meet investigators in public for fear of retaliation because they feared local police.
They had good reason to worry. In 2023, officers arrested an attorney representing the citizens in a police abuse case against the department. She was filming the traffic stop at that time.
The police are made up of about 10 officers, some of which are part-time, the smallest surveyed by the Department of Justice in decades. Federal agents eventually found that the officers used excessive force, discriminate against black people, halt and search without any possible causes, and arrest people for not having the money to pay the fine.
It is unclear what measures the Lexington Police Department is taking in response to reports. Police Chief Charles Henderson declined to comment and directed the city attorney to question the call, who did not return the call.
Advocates of reform place their hopes in future elections in Lexington and can bring new leadership interest in making changes at the police department.
In Mount Vernon, New York, they say they have seen most of the move since the Justice Department discovered that police there used excessive force, illegal stripping and searching for arrested people, and unable to properly train officials and supervisors. Police also found discrimination against black people. One group is considering legal action to guide the city to the table.
“It appears Mount Vernon is lip service to address the findings,” said Daniel Lambright, a lawyer with the New York Civil Liberties Union. “It remains unclear what they actually do to address the findings.”
In their report, federal agents expressed concern that the police department “unnecessarily escalates the overly offensive tactics.” In one instance, five Mount Vernon officers used their power on men who thought they were selling drugs without announcing their existence or trying to arrest them peacefully. Instead, one of the officers approached the man from behind and reportedly tried to put him on “upper body hold.” The police then threw the man to the ground. One officer drove his Taser to the suspect five times, and another officer repeatedly punched him in his head. The man had a broken nose.
“Reform efforts must continue,” said Pastor Stephen Pogue, a member of the United Black Clergy at Westchester, an organization that addresses social justice issues in Mount Vernon and surrounding areas. “We are not one of the places where Trump is our God. We still need Jesus on Mount Vernon.”
Pogue said he hopes to hold a public meeting on the report before the summer.
Mayor Shawin Patterson and a police spokesman did not reply to the interview request. However, in December, the mayor said in a statement that the city would work with the Department of Justice to address the findings. “We sincerely support good officers, and at the same time we will not tolerate them and punish unconstitutional police,” she said.
In Phoenix, city and police officials sent conflicting signals about federal investigations, with police departments using excessive deadly force, violating the rights of homeless people, discriminating against blacks, Latino, Native Americans, and people with behavioral disabilities. “Why would someone accept the consent ruling?” said one city council member a few months before the report was released. The police union chief then said the investigation was a “father” and part of a “non-professional smear campaign.”
But Mayor Kate Gallego says the city is taking the report seriously. In September, the city council passed several police reform measures. This required all officers contracting with the public to use body brace cameras, even special units at the heart of the controversial shooting.
“Regardless of the new federal administration, these reforms are moving forward, and the mayor’s commitment to improving the police department is unwavering,” a mayor’s spokesman told Propublica.
Several other cities targeted by the Department of Justice have taken small steps to fix issues identified by federal agents, but it is unclear whether the efforts will result in lasting changes.
In Oklahoma City, when Justice discovered in January that police officers discriminated against people with behavioral health disorders, the city recently began funding mobile mental health units that can respond to incidents on behalf of police, said Jessica Hawkins, chairman of the city’s Crisis Intervention Adviser Group. She said the city is also working on a written response to the DOJ report, but didn’t know when it would be completed.
Police Chief Ron Basie declined to request a PropoPublica interview and said via a spokesman that the department is “still reviewing the report.”
In Memphis, Tennessee, federal agents discovered that police were using excessive force, illegal suspensions and discriminating against black people, and the mayor put together a reform task force led by a retired federal judge. “We’re working on the issues of justice in Memphis,” said Josh Spickler, executive director of Just City.
And in Trenton, New Jersey, City Council member Jasi Edwards, who discovered that local police have a pattern or practice of using excessive force and halting illegal pedestrians and vehicles, is holding community meetings to present ideas from the private complaint review board and build support for the action. Edwards said he plans to formally put his proposal one day in the fall.
However, you may encounter resistance. Representatives from the police department and mayor told Propublica they do not believe that a private review board is necessary because the private review board is expensive and there are existing ways for citizens to complain about police conduct. The DOJ report highlighted several areas that needed improvement, but said it mischaracterized many cases, giving an inaccurate portrayal of the department’s culture.
In Worcester, Massachusetts, reforms have already progressed in response to a Department of Justice investigation.
NOAA scientists are cleaning the bathroom after the end of the basic service contract and reconsidering the lab experiment
Last month, the police chief released a 15-page report on proposed measures aimed at remedying issues identified by federal agents. Changes still awaiting legal review include banning police from releasing K-9 dogs into mass gatherings and riot scenes and asking supervisors to go to the scene if someone reports that they are injured by police.
Police Chief Paul Socier has proposed several changes to the way officers approach prostitution. Investigators found the department was engaged in “outrageous government actions” with sex workers through sexual contact during the undercover investigation.
“We hope we’re heading in the right direction,” said Audra Doody, co-executive director of the Safe Exit Initiative, a Worcester organization that provides services, housing and counseling to sex workers who want to leave sex trade. “In these times of uncertainty, I want to believe that people in our community are telling the truth and are going to do what they actually are trying to do.
Propublica reports on how the Trump administration’s efforts to rebuild the federal government will affect the Justice Department and its civil rights work. If you are a former or current Department of Justice employee and you would like to send us any tips, please contact us. We are particularly interested in the civil rights sector of the sector. Topher Sanders can be accessed by phone or signal via 904-254-0393 or via email [email protected].