Similar investigations are underway into the Minneapolis Police Department in connection with the killing of George Floyd and the Louisville Police Department’s actions leading up to the shooting of Breonna Taylor.
The Justice Department on Thursday opened an investigation into the Louisiana State Police over accusations that officers had engaged in abusive and discriminatory behavior, including the fatal beating of a Black motorist three years ago. Under President Biden and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, the department has expanded its use of such intensive inquiries, known as pattern-or-practice investigations, which are meant to determine whether a state or local law enforcement agency uses “excessive force, biased policing and other unconstitutional practices.”
The investigation, to be conducted by the department’s Civil Rights Division, was opened after a preliminary review included reports of officers repeatedly using excessive force, often against people pulled over for minor traffic offenses, who were “already handcuffed” or were “not resisting” arrest, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke told reporters in Baton Rouge, La., on Thursday. The department also received reports that officers had targeted Black residents and people of color, including “disturbing information about the use of racial slurs and racially derogatory terms,” she said. Ms. Clarke is currently overseeing similar investigations into the Minneapolis Police Department in connection with the killing of George Floyd, the Louisville Police Department’s actions leading up to the shooting of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, and other investigations of police conduct in Phoenix and Mt.
