Federal Oversight Of Detroit Police Wraps Up After 13 Years
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Federal oversight of the Detroit Police Department that included its handling of arrests and lockups has officially ended after 13 years.
U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn on Thursday issued an order saying the department "has met its obligations" for improvements under an agreement with the Justice Department.
Assistant Police Chief James White told the Detroit Free Press the city now has a "much more organized, constitutional police department."
"We don't look at this process as the end of a journey, but more or less a beginning," White told the newspaper. "This isn't a new concept for us. We're happy to end the governmental oversight, but the reforms that we have engaged in over the course of the past 13 years are no longer new to us. They are embedded in our police. They are how we believe now ... and we will be truly an example for other forces across the country."
In 2014, Cohn ended a sweeping 2003 decree that included oversight by a court-appointed monitor after the federal government found substantial compliance with the agreement to reduce excessive force, illegal arrests and improper detention in holding cells.
For the past 18 months, the government still was able to keep an eye on police by reviewing internal audits and other steps.
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