Ex-Justice Department lawyer will lead Elijah McClain probe
Jonathan Smith, the executive director of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, will lead the three-person panel reviewing policing policies at issue in the death of Elijah McClain, Sentinel Colorado reported Tuesday. Three officers stopped McClain as he walked down an Aurora street on Aug, 23, 2019 after a 911 caller reported him as suspicious. The Justice Department division is responsible for investigations of civil rights violations by law enforcement, juvenile justice and mental health and disability agencies. Last year, the local district attorney said he could not file charges against the officers because a pathologist could not determine whether the officers' actions caused McClain's death. Federal authorities recently revealed they have been researching since last year into whether they should launch a civil rights investigation into McClains death.
Police reforms quickly take hold across America. Its only just getting started
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo says he supports national policing standards. The legislation is the most expansive effort in recent years to address national policing practices at a federal level. "Most departments have not allowed chokeholds for decades," said Joe Gamaldi, national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents more than 350,000 US law enforcement officers. A key measure in the legislation -- vehemently opposed by a coalition of law enforcement unions -- will shatter the veil of secrecy that a 1976 law provided police personnel and disciplinary records. The New York state legislation will designate the attorney general as an independent prosecutor in cases involving civilian deaths.