Maryland Attorney General Frosh Joins Coalition Urging Congress To Give State Attorneys General Authority To Investigate Unconstitutional Policing
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Maryland Attorney General Frosh joined a coalition of 18 attorneys generals on Thursday urging Congress to expand federal law to give state attorneys general "clear statutory authority" to investigate patterns or practices of unconstitutional policing.
The coalition asked Congress in a letter to expand the law enforcement misconduct section of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which was enacted after the severe beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles Police Department officers in 1991.
They argue that they should have the authority to investigate and resolve these patterns or practices, particularly when the U.S. Department of Justice fails to use its authority to act.
"Our nation is in the midst of turmoil following yet another instance of police brutality against black people," said Attorney General Frosh. "We must act with urgency at all levels of government to bring justice to victims and eliminate the systemic failures that cause and allow police brutality to continue. We are asking Congress to give attorneys general the authority to conduct pattern-or-practice investigations, and the tools to bring enforcement actions when the federal government is unwilling to act."
This comes as thousands of Americans march in cities across the country to protest police brutality. Protests have been happening nearly daily around Maryland since the weekend.
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The attorneys general claim the DOJ has initiated 69 pattern-or-practice investigations between 1994 and 2017 which resulted in 40 court-enforceable consent decrees. The attorneys general then say that since 2017, the DOJ has "largely curtailed" the ability of federal law enforcement to use court-enforced agreements to reform local police departments.
They said the DOJ's "refusal to address the pervasive problem of police misconduct" has left communities without civil rights protections.
The group is asking Congress to authorize them, in addition to the DOJ to investigate the complaints through the use of investigative subpoenas, and be allowed to gather data about the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers, which could help identify agencies that have above-average rates of excessive force complaints to identify at-risk agencies before an incident happens.
They cite the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd in May as example, the officer had 18 prior complaints filed against him with the Minneapolis Police Department's Internal Affairs.
Joining Attorney General Frosh in filing the comment letter are the attorneys general of California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Vermont.
