From the Department of Too Little Too Late ...
Cleveland Police Cited for Abuse by Justice Department (NY Times)
The Justice Department announced on Thursday that a nearly two-year civil rights investigation into the Cleveland Police Department had found a pattern of "unreasonable and unnecessary use of force" that resulted in dangerous and reckless behavior by officers, pointing out the kinds of problems that have angered black residents here and touched off demonstrations across the country in recent weeks.
The abuses cited in the report included excessive use of force by the police involving not just firearms, but also less-than-lethal weapons like Tasers, chemical spray and fists, which were sometimes used for retaliation. The report also said the police had used excessive force against mentally ill people and employed tactics that escalated potentially nonviolent encounters into dangerous confrontations.
...
As a result of the federal investigation in Cleveland, the city has agreed to work toward a settlement with the Justice Department, known as a consent decree, that will overhaul practices, tighten policies on the use of force and subject the police to oversight by an independent monitor.
OK DOJ - Is that really all that can be done?
On a related note per excessive force and the mentally ill I want to point out this link to a convention being held in Las Vegas, January 20-22, 2015: Officer Involved Shooting Summit & High Liability Topics. I saw it when I clicked through to the PoliceOne.com forum referenced in the Rec List diary Let's Hear From Some Actual Police Officers...
OK so for the price of $695 (not including hotel & airfare) here's what you get:
Learn from some of the best in their fields. Two and a half days of learning and networking. Meet Dr. Bill Lewinski from Force Science, become an Excited Delirium Instructor and test out a fully functioning simulator from VirTra [Virtual Reality Training]. Register today and here are just a few of the classes you can pick from:
Introduction to Force Science
Body Worn Cameras
Reviewing Critical Incidents
Use of Force Monitoring
Media Relations
Excited Delirium Instructor Certification
Law Enforcement Response to Autism
Sovereign Citizens
WTF? It is appalling to know that there is such a thing as an "Officer Involved Shooting Summit" let alone this BS is becoming a profit industry. And I seriously wonder about the contents they are teaching. I've never heard of
Excited Delirium before. Is this a real thing or a made up reason to justify killing people?
Excited delirium: A medical emergency or unscientific excuse?
Charles Arroyo was choking his mother on her bed in Egg Harbor City.
Mark Keseleski was standing near his burning car on the New Jersey Turnpike in Woodbridge.
Each wound up dead after a fight with police.
An NJ Advance Media analysis found they were among 10 people during the past decade in New Jersey who authorities said died after a case of excited delirium, a controversial medical syndrome, usually cited after struggles with police, that results in heart or respiratory failure.
Some police experts, physicians, researchers and medical examiners say the condition is real, and police officers are often wrongly accused of excessive force as a result of it. Critics say it’s poorly understood, vague and open to abuse by police or prosecutors.
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Proponents of the syndrome say it kills anywhere from 250 to 600 people nationwide every year, and, while still considered rare, it has during the past decade increasingly surfaced in cases when police are accused of causing heart failure by using a stun gun.
Wow! Heart and respiratory failure. Sound familiar?