WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden came into office promising greater police accountability, and during his tenure the Justice Department has launched a dozen investigations of state and local law enforcement agencies. Nearly four years later, his administration has still failed to reach reform agreements with any of them, threatening a major civil rights initiative as Biden prepares to hand the White House to President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump has indicated that he intends to abandon Biden's use of federal power to force sweeping changes aimed at curbing excessive police force and racial discrimination. That leaves the Justice Department with just over two months to secure legally binding consent decrees that could subject jurisdictions to federal court oversight and make it harder for Trump to change course - or, failing that, to reach a settlement or issue sweeping reports that could summarize the work of investigators and provide state and local officials with plans for reforms
The race to formalize police accountability plans comes at a time when Trump is promising to allow local law enforcement to use more aggressive tactics to combat violent crime and possibly send the National Guard, or even the U.S. Army, to help patrol some American cities. Although the shift in law enforcement priorities at the Justice Department is typical after transitions between Democratic and Republican administrations, Biden's aides said their concerns are more acute in the face of Trump's promises to use the department to attack his political rivals.
washingtonpost.com / photo: whitehouse.gov / gnews.cz
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