In May, more than 100 cops from
the Seattle Police Department (but not their union)
filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) over
new use of force rules it was imposing after an investigation found
a pattern and practice of abuse at the department.
The cops argued, among other things, that the Constitution “does
not permit judges, or in this case DOJ and its Monitor, to look
back in perfect hindsight, from the safety of their chambers or
offices, to second-guess what patrol officers actually faced at the
moment and know from real experience on the streets,” but that the
Fourth Amendment does give cops the right to perform reasonable
searches and seizures.
Unsurprisingly, today a district judge
threw the lawsuit out, dismissing it with prejudice and ruling
cops’ case wasn’t backed by the Constittion or case law.
Union bosses in Albuquerque pointed to the lawsuit in May as
evidence of the DOJ’s mandate failures. The Seattle Police
Department says it’s on board with mandated reforms. The failure of
the lawsuit leaves one less excuse for anti-reform players
elsewhere.
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