Mastodawn

Exclusive: #DOJ unit on #PoliceMisconduct sees staffing plunge & probes scaled back

The #US Justice Department unit responsible for prosecuting potential wrongdoing by law enforcement, including during the crackdown on illegal #immigration in #Minneapolis, has lost TWO-THIRDS of its #prosecutors & is under orders to scale back its investigations of #ExcessiveForce….

#Trump #StateSponsoredTerrorism #law #CivilRights #UseOfForce #PoliceBrutality #ICE #CBP #Sturmabteilung
https://www.reuters.com/world/justice-department-unit-police-misconduct-sees-staffing-plunge-probes-scaled-2026-02-05/

Show thread

Nonilex Feb 5

The unit, which typically plays a leading role in reviewing cases nationwide in which law enforcement officers appear to violate people’s rights, has lost significant capacity to pursue investigations because of staff departures & new “guidance” under the #Trump admin curtailing its mandate, acc/to interviews with 7 former lawyers in the section.

#law #murder #ExtraJudicialKillings #CivilRights #ExcessiveForce #UseOfForce #PoliceBrutality #tyranny #MafiaState #ICE #CBP #Sturmabteilung #ACAB

Show thread

Nonilex Feb 5

The number of trial #attorneys in the unit, known as the #Criminal Section of the #CivilRights Division, has dropped from roughly 40 before #Trump took office a year ago to no more than 13, acc/to 3 of the people with knowledge of its staffing. Just 2 supervisors remain in their roles & have not announced plans to leave. Previously, there have been around 7 supervisors in the unit.

#law #murder #ExtraJudicialKillings #ExcessiveForce #UseOfForce #PoliceBrutality #Sturmabteilung #ICE #CBP #ACAB

Show thread

Nonilex Feb 5

The former #DOJ lawyers, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation, expressed doubts about the ability of the section to conduct thorough investigations into recent incidents, including the fatal #shootings of #ReneeGood & #AlexPretti by federal #immigration agents in #Minneapolis last month. The DOJ has said it is investigating Pretti’s killing but not Good’s.

#Trump #law #murder #CivilRights #ExcessiveForce #UseOfForce #PoliceBrutality #ICE #CBP #ACAB

Show thread

Nonilex Feb 5

…Former prosecutors who handled investigations of #police wrongdoing said their case loads dropped as #ExcessiveForce probes stalled last year.

The number of people charged with violating the #CivilRights #law most commonly used in federal excessive-force cases dropped about 36% last year to 54 total cases, the lowest number since 2020, according to a Reuters analysis of federal court dockets obtained from Westlaw.

#Trump #murder #UseOfForce #PoliceBrutality #Sturmabteilung #ICE #CBP #ACAB

Show thread

Nonilex

In one sign of the section’s new direction, #CivilRights prosecutors are handling the case against former CNN anchor #DonLemon & 8 others accused of disrupting a #Minnesota church service last month [100% not a #UseOfForce case] in #protest of #immigration enforcement, acc/to court records [Lemon was there as a journalist not a protester].

#Trump #law #FreePress #FirstAmendment #RightToProtest #ExcessiveForce #PoliceBrutality #MafiaState #ICE #CBP #Sturmabteilung #WhiteSupremacy #ACAB

Show thread

Nonilex Feb 5

The 7 former prosecutors in the section described an exodus of veteran #lawyers as the #Trump admin adopted what some called a selective approach to enforcing the #law, reining in investigations of perceived allies while encouraging probes of his adversaries.

“The idea of a system where every vulnerable group is not protected equally by the rule of law is not a system I can be a part of from the inside,” said Laura-Kate Bernstein, a former trial attorney who left the #DOJ in May.

#CivilRights

Show thread

Nonilex Feb 5

…Lawyers from the section are traditionally on the ground within days, if not hours, after a high-profile #killing by #police.

The #DOJ has said there is no basis for a #CivilRights probe into the #ReneeGood #shooting. It has opened an investigation into #AlexPretti’s killing, but officials have downplayed its scope.

“I don't want the takeaway to be that there's some massive civil rights investigation that's happening,” DAG #ToddBlanche told reporters Friday.

#Trump #law #murder #UseOfForce

Show thread

Nonilex Feb 5

#Lawyers who worked in the section told Reuters that videos of both encounters appear to provide justification to at least examine whether agents violated a federal #law that bars officers from willfully depriving anyone of their rights.

There is a high legal standard to bring such a case & in some much-publicized instances the #DOJ opted not to bring charges. But an investigation can provide a detailed accounting of the facts & build public trust, attys who worked on the investigations said.

Show thread

Nonilex Feb 5

"It’s so anomalous," said Samantha Trepel, a former top #DOJ #CivilRights official who now works at the election nonprofit States United Democracy Center. "In situations like this, a #criminal civil rights investigation is the most well-trodden path to #accountability."

#Trump #StateSponsoredTerrorism #law #murder #ExtraJudicialKillings #ExcessiveForce #UseOfForce #PoliceBrutality #AbuseOfPower #tyranny #MafiaState #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #ICE #CBP #Sturmabteilung #WhiteSupremacy #ACAB #RESIST