JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO THE MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Justice Department announced today that it has opened a civil investigation into allegations of excessive use of deadly force by firearms by members of the city of Miami Police Department (MPD), in accordance with the pattern or practice provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
The department’s investigation will seek to determine whether there are systemic violations of the Constitution or federal law by officers of MPD. During the course of the investigation, the Justice Department will consider all relevant information, particularly the efforts that MPD has undertaken to ensure compliance with federal law. The Justice Department has taken similar steps involving a variety of state and local law enforcement agencies, both large and small, in jurisdictions such as Newark, N.J., Seattle, Puerto Rico, New Orleans, and the District of Columbia.
This matter is being investigated by attorneys from the Special Litigation Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The department welcomes any information from the community. If you have any comments or concerns, please feel free to contact the department at 1-877-218-5228, or via email at community.miamipd@usdoj.gov.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
