The American Civil Liberties Union launched a campaign this month to seek accountability from law enforcement departments undergoing federal investigations that the Justice Department under the Trump administration has abandoned.
Through the “Seven States Safety Campaign,” the ACLU across seven states filed coordinated public records requests seeking to uncover police excesses in those departments. The records requested include Use of Force reports, records of Taser use, and complaints of racial discrimination and profiling.
“We’re at the beginning of the investigation,” said Joshua Tom, legal director of the ACLU of Mississippi. “Once we fully investigate, we can decide then what exactly we’re going to do.”
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on the same day as ACLU’s launch had announced the closure of its investigations into law enforcement departments in Phoenix, Arizona; Trenton, New Jersey; Memphis, Tennessee; Mount Vernon, New York; Oklahoma City;, Oklahoma; and the state of Louisiana. This came alongside an announcement that its lawsuits against the Louisville, Kentucky, and Minneapolis police departments were going to be dismissed. An investigation into the Lexington, Mississippi, Police Department had been concluded, also, but no consent decree was issued.
In February, the Civil Rights Division had announced that it was pausing all litigation – notably an announcement that did not impact federal oversight of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department as the investigation into it had only been opened, not concluded, and not accompanied by litigation.
The Rankin County Sheriff’s Department did not respond to a request for comment. This article will be updated if they respond.
“The purpose of the Seven States Campaign is to try to fill the gap that the Department of Justice under President Trump has left by abandoning the eight investigations that were identified last week,” Tom said.
The Justice Department is yet to confirm if it is ceasing its patterns and practices investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department in Mississippi, which was opened in 2024, the year after five deputies from the department, who were part of a self-described “Goon Squad” went to prison for their role in the torture of two Black men – one of whom they shot in the mouth.
Tom said that accountability could take various forms, such as consent decrees, damage awards and settlements for victims, and for officers who have engaged in misconduct to lose their jobs.
“Policing is obviously an important public service. It’s also important that when police do their jobs that they respect people’s civil and constitutional rights, and to the extent that they’re not doing that – such as with the Goon Squad – that they be held accountable.”
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