Regressive Policing Under President Trump

NEW YORK — One year after the Trump administration abandoned federal police oversight across the country, the American Civil Liberties Union released a report raising concerns that the patterns of excessive force and racial discrimination identified by the prior Department of Justice (DOJ) were ongoing when this administration withdrew from oversight. The report, Regressive Policing Under President Trump, provides a one-year update on the ACLU's Seven States Safety Campaign, launched shortly after the DOJ’s announcement that it was abandoning police reform across the country. The campaign focused on law enforcement agencies in seven states where federal civil rights investigations and reports confirmed widespread patterns of police abuse. These included municipal police departments and county sheriff departments in Tennessee, Massachusetts, New York, Arizona, Mississippi, Minnesota, and Kentucky. Through coordinated public records requests and advocacy, the campaign sought to uncover whether the constitutional violations identified by the DOJ continued despite the Trump administration's decision to walk away. “The Trump administration abandoned oversight based on the false claim that the alarming problems uncovered in the DOJ’s investigations were either untrue or had already been addressed,” said Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy director of policing at the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project. “Our preliminary review of these records suggests that many of the same problems identified by the DOJ persisted at the exact moment the federal government was using those claims to justify walking away. Since then, this administration has been actively encouraging the same types of aggressive policing tactics that the DOJ has found to be dangerous and unconstitutional. If the federal government refuses to protect people’s constitutional rights, we deserve transparency about whether the known police misconduct in our communities is being taken seriously.” Last May, the ACLU and local partners submitted coordinated public records requests to police departments in seven states, seeking use-of-force reports and other records that could shed light on policing practices and patterns of misconduct. The ACLU received more than 600 use-of-force reports and additional records, though many agencies delayed or continue to withhold responsive documents in violation of state public records laws. “In Memphis, we've seen firsthand what happens when there are questions about police conduct but not enough transparency and accountability to answer them,” said Cardell Orrin, executive director of Stand for Children Tennessee. “At a time when increased state and federal law enforcement activity is raising new concerns about people's rights and safety, public access to local police records is more important than ever. The records obtained through the Seven States Safety Campaign reinforce why independent oversight and public accountability remain essential. People deserve to know whether the misconduct identified by the DOJ is continuing and whether law enforcement agencies are taking meaningful steps to change their practices and protect the rights of the communities they serve.” The ACLU’s preliminary review of the records suggests that excessive force continues to be a problem across multiple agencies, including improper escalation of force against people experiencing mental health crises, misuse of Tasers, and problematic internal review processes that may fail to identify or address improper use of force. The ACLU’s initial assessment also raises concerns that the racial discrimination identified in DOJ investigations has persisted. Many agencies resisted providing records they are legally required to share. One year later, records from numerous departments are still outstanding. The full report is available here: https://www.aclu.org/publications/regressive-policing-under-president-trump