The DC Auditor’s Office released a report that indicates the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) failed to thoroughly investigate several incidents involving use of deadly force on African Americans.
The report analyzed MPD’s handling of four separate police killings that took place between 2018 and 2019 that resulted in the deaths of Jeffrey Price, Jr., D’Quan Young, Marqueese Alston and Eric Carter, all of which are Black men.
“Our review of these four cases from 2018 and 2019 demonstrates that MPD has fallen short of the standards it should set for itself, and far short of the standards it achieved in prior years when it was under federal oversight (2002–08),” the Auditor’s Office said.
The Office’s Review Team praised MPD for its past investigations — from 2002 through 2008 — into serious use of force, including cases involving death. During that six-year period, MPD’s investigations “were not perfect but they consistently reached a high level of excellence, to the point that MPD became a national model for conducting and reviewing such incident,” according to the report. However, it was not the case between 2018 and 2019.
The audit team concluded that “weaknesses” mentioned in a 2016 report have not been fixed, and “have grown substantially worse while the Department has appeared to resist or be unconcerned with remedying them,” DC Auditor Kathleen Patterson explained in a letter to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.
The team’s recommendations include:
- Comprehensive investigation and analysis of use of force incidents including actions by all officers
leading up to the use of force and any and all opportunities for de-escalation. - Enhanced training for investigators who handle serious use of force cases.
- Requiring the Use of Force Review Board (UFRB) to provide specific recommendations on training,
policy and best practices. - Public release of both the Internal Affairs Division final report and the UFRB’s resulting conclusions on use of force investigations.
The analysis was carried out in cooperation with the Bromwich Group, a DC-based strategic consulting firm that provides crisis management counseling and assistance to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Patterson acknowledged in the report that the use of force by the police officers involved in the four cases was justified and within MPD policy, saying that conclusion was supported by the evidence.
“Nevertheless, we noted a number of opportunities for significant improvements in MPD tactics and in IAD investigative practices,” the report added.
Another report by the DC Auditor will be released in late 2021.