News National/International

US: Cleveland Police Poorly Trained, Reckless

 

The U.S. Justice Department says Cleveland police officers use excessive and unnecessary force far too often, are poorly trained and endanger the public with their recklessness.

The Justice Department issued a report Thursday on the department. It says officers too often violate people's civil rights because of inadequate training and a lack of supervision and accountability.
 
The department and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson have agreed to work toward the appointment of a court-appointed monitor to oversee police reforms that will include search-and-seizure practices.
 
The federal investigation was prompted by several highly publicized encounters, chiefly the deaths of two unarmed people who were shot in a hail of police gunfire in November 2012.

The inquiry predates last month's shooting of a 12-year-old boy outside a Cleveland recreation center.