Summary
Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing services announced a review of the San Francisco Police Department Monday.
But the announcement fell flat for many observers of the SFPD who have joined a growing chorus of calls for a federal civil rights investigation.
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Robert Weisberg, a professor at Stanford Law School, said a voluntary COPS review is the lightest of several actions federal attorneys can take. He said it’s “a kind of mediation” that allows the Justice Department to offer assistance in improving a police department’s programs.
“Sometimes that carries with it the implication that it would be a good idea for the police department to cooperate, otherwise the Department of Justice might take stronger measures,” he said.
Weisberg said stronger action could include an investigation through the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, federal prosecution of individual officers for a particular shooting or incident, court-ordered reform and monitoring (as in Oakland) or a contractual agreement between Justice and the SFPD.
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