The Portland Police Bureau has engaged in a “pattern and practice” of excessive use of force, particularly against mentally ill suspects, the U.S. Justice Department has concluded after a 14-month investigation.
I love the Obama Administration right now, particularly after bringing the hammer down on the New Orleans and Seattle police departments while suing Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. This is a non-obvious, savvy way to use the White House: Clean up years of misconduct in police departments, misconduct that for years has been swept under the rug, that has largely affected the poor and the non-white, that several cities wouldn’t—or couldn’t—remedy on their own. I can’t see this happening under Romney.