12 Attorneys General and Police Misconduct - November 14, 2022 12 Attorneys General and Police Misconduct - November 14, 2022
Allegations of police misconduct are referred to attorneys general most often because of a perceived conflict because the district attorneys work with closely local police officers who always witnesses on other pending cases. Attorneys general also have a broader perspective and are therefore able to develop develop expertise in handling police cases and create statewide uniform standards. Further, from the perspective of public confidence, it is often best to have the prosecutor be from outside any local district.
The issue of who will investigate allegations of police misconduct is not new. Indeed many attorneys general have handled these cases for many years, but for other states it is new. While there are disagreements on this policy, the national trend is to expand the role of attorneys general in dealing with allegations over the use of excessive force by police officers.
12.1. What you need to know about the cost of police misconduct - The Washington Post - March 10, 2022
Police Misconduct is expensive!
12.2. Exec. Summary of the Ohio Supreme Court Report ("Police Lethal Use of Force," Report and Recommendations of the Task Force to Examine Improvements to the Ohio Grand Jury System, PP 5-9
A key recommendation of the Ohio Supreme Court in its 2016 report on reviewing the use of lethal force by police was to move the investigation and possible prosecution away from District Attorneys and to the Office of Ohio Attorney General. While there has been no action on this recommendation in Ohio, the Court states the case for removing such cases from local prosecutors.
July 2016
Links:
- Original:https://static1.squarespace.com/static/577e9d93b3db2b9290cd7005/t/5ed5c75284ccba3548207132/1591068502177/ohio-grandjury-taskforce-report-2016-excerpt-policeuseofforce.pdf
- Archival: https://perma.cc/Q25R-SLKX
The Ohio Supreme Court Report ("Police Lethal Use of Force," Report and Recommendations of the Task Force to Examine Improvements to the Ohio Grand Jury System, The Supreme Court of Ohio, July 2016
12.3. "Some want outside prosecution of police. Others say that’s a mistake," Dayton Daily News, Cornelius Frolick, Aug. 22, 2020
Links:
12.4. MN county attorneys: State AG office should handle police deadly force cases, MPR News, June 5, 2020
12.5. A Special Unit to Prosecute Police Killings Has No Convictions, Feb. 26, 2021, The New York Times
Links:
12.6. No Charges Against Police in Amir Locke Shooting, Mn AG and DA - The New York Times - April 6, 2022 -
12.7. Illinois attorney general makes the case for licensing police officers; AG Kwame Raoul also complained that getting the Chicago Police Department to comply with the terms of a federal consent decree has been, at times, “like pulling teeth.” Chicago Sun-Times, June 24, 2020
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12.8. NJ attorney general releases names of disciplined police officers, Aug 11, 2021
12.9. Pa. Attorney General Shapiro announces launch of police misconduct database, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 14, 2021
12.10. W.Va. Attorney General reacts to proposed police review board, WBOY.com, March 5, 2021
12.11. Letter of W. VA AG re: Proposed Community Police Review Advisory Board, March 4, 2021
Links:
12.12. Attorney General James Files Lawsuit Against the NYPD for Excessive Use of Force | New York AG - January, 2021 - Supplemental
12.13. Chicago Police Consent Decree - 2016 - Supplemental
Links:
- Original: http://chicagopoliceconsentdecree.org/faq/
- Archival: https://perma.cc/3G96-DT9C