The Department of Justice said Thursday that the Cleveland Police Department has a pattern of “unreasonable and unnecessary use of force,” as typified in the shooting to death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice last month and a slew of other incidents, including officers punching a 13-year-old shoplifter who was already in handcuffs and shooting at an unarmed kidnapping victim who was wearing only underwear. Cleveland and the Justice Department have signed an agreement to create a court-enforceable consent decree that will include an independent monitor to oversee reforms. The DoJ investigation found that besides unnecessary shootings, cops also use “head strikes with impact weapons” and “excessive force against persons who are mentally ill or in crisis, including in cases where the officers were called exclusively for a welfare check.”
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