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Inspectors general of the US Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security are launching separate probes about the Trump administration’s deployment of federal law enforcement officers in Portland, Oregon, and various complaints about the use of force. in protesters, they announced Thursday.
In a letter to three chairmen of Democratic House committees: Jerry Nadler of the Judiciary panel, Carolyn Maloney of the Oversight panel, and Benny Thompson of the National Security panel, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz , announced that it is “initiating a review to examine the Department of Justice and the roles and responsibilities of its law enforcement components to respond to protest activity and civil unrest in Washington, DC, and in Portland, Oregon during the two previous months. “
That review will include “examining the training and instruction provided to DOJ law enforcement personnel; compliance with applicable identification requirements, participation rules, and legal authorities; and adherence to DOJ policies regarding the use of ammunition. less lethal, chemical agents and other uses of force, “wrote the inspector general.
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The DOJ Office of Inspector General is coordinating its review of events in Lafayette Square on June 1, when federal agents used tear gas and explosive grenades to disperse peaceful protesters and clear the way for Donald Trump to head to a photo shoot in a local. church – with the inspector general in the Department of the Interior.
“If circumstances warrant, the OIG will consider including other issues that may arise during the course of the review,” Horowitz wrote.
Horowitz’s office is not alone in launching an investigation into the administration’s activities in response to protests against police brutality that have frequently erupted in rampant behavior in various cities across the United States this summer.
DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari opened an investigation “into allegations that on July 15, 2020, DHS law enforcement personnel improperly detained and transported protesters in Portland, Oregon,” he wrote to the same group of legislators.
Cuffari’s team will coordinate its investigation with the Horowitz team and other agencies “as appropriate,” he wrote.
Donald Trump appears to be in no rush to restrict his administration’s legally questionable methods of suppressing protests, which Republican lawmakers have despised for their degeneration, at times, into violence and vandalism.
The recent wave of protests was sparked by the police custody murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville and several others.
In fact, he announced Wednesday that he would “elevate” federal law enforcement officers to Chicago “immediately” to quell the violence there, invoking the same legal doctrines he cited for his actions in Portland.
Democratic lawmakers have accused the president of using federal police deployments as a campaign tactic, targeting cities with Democratic leadership. Part of his selling argument for a second term, despite following former Vice President Joe Biden nationally and in most key key states, is that he is a “president of law and order.”
But the majority of American voters, according to multiple polls conducted in recent weeks, oppose Trump’s response to violence across the country, much of which is related to the murder of George Floyd and others. black people by white police officers.
Attorney General William Barr, whose role in the street cleanup maneuvers near Lafayette Square in the nation’s capital last month will receive scrutiny as part of the Justice Department investigation, has indicated that he can deploy federal units to Kansas City. and several other cities in the coming weeks.
Barr said the recent violence is directly related to an “attack” on the police, presumably the slogan of “dismantle the police” pushed by some black activists.
While the president’s campaign has tried to link his Democratic opponent this fall, Joe Biden, with the “remove the police” movement, Biden has made it clear that he intends not to do so.
His plan to remake the criminal justice system recommends diverting some federal funds from police departments to create a “civilian corps of unarmed first responders such as social workers, EMS technicians, and trained mental health professionals” who would handle nonviolent incidents such as the Mental health emergencies or low-level conflicts, according to a manifesto drafted by six joint working groups that it created with Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders to shore up support among progressives.
Such a body of lifeguards “[free] police officers to focus on the most serious crimes, “say the Biden-Sanders task forces in their policy recommendations.
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