DOJ Finds San Francisco’s Police Department Suffers From Bias
It wasn’t really a secret that San Francisco’s police department suffered from the same racial issues that many stations across the country are plagued with. In fact, the are currently managing a scandal that involved multiple officers sending racist text messages.
To confirm that these racial undertones affect the department’s police work, the Department of Justice just released their findings after a six-month investigation, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Federal officials found that in 528 cases of force against presumed assailants from May 2013 to May 2016, it was used against African-Americans 37% of the time, which is more than any other race. They also found that nine out of 11 victims of fatal use of force were people of color.
The investigation found that the department had been using outdated methods and technology, ranging from the tactics they used to subdue suspects to the systems they used to file reports and investigate shootings.
To make matters even more shocking, it was reportedly found that the police department only investigated one of the 500 instances where force was used, only five of which were properly filed.
Following the report, the DOJ made 272 recommendations on changes that can be made within the department.
“I’m proud to report that the San Francisco Police Department will accept and implement every single recommendation,” said Mayor Ed Lee. “We must restore trust, and these measures are important steps forward.”
One would suspect that this investigation pointed out that the problem with police today isn’t just a matter of a few officers shooting the wrong people, but actually a system that’s been corrupted down to its foundation in need of major alterations.
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