Prince George's County agreed yesterday to make many changes in its police department to curb excessive force by officers and restrict the use of police dogs after long-running Justice Department investigations found systemic abuses.
In two agreements with the Justice Department that were made public yesterday -- one concerning complaints of misconduct by canine unit officers and the other dealing with alleged brutality by officers throughout the department -- Prince George's promised to take numerous steps to improve police performance and enhance accountability.
Compliance with the agreements over the next few years is to be monitored by the Justice Department and by an overseer chosen by county and federal officials.
Among other reforms, the county agreed to reduce dog-bite incidents by limiting situations in which police dogs may be deployed, draft a more detailed use-of-force policy, form a permanent panel to review all police shootings, improve the handling of civilian complaints, restrict the use of pepper spray and create a computer database to store information about all facets of officers' performance during their careers.
"It is an agreement of accountability and supervision and, I would say, high expectations," County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) said at a news conference.
As county state's attorney from 1995 through 2002, Johnson often targeted police officers accused of misconduct. His office prosecuted 11 officers in seven cases but won no convictions. Johnson also made an issue of police wrongdoing while campaigning for the county's top elected office in 2002.
"These agreements allow our police department to effectively work with our community, to carry out its duties and obligations," he said yesterday.
Others said they were not certain whether the agreements -- which ended two Justice Department civil rights investigations, dating to 1999 and 2000 -- would result in lasting reforms. Redmond Barnes, a member of the People's Coalition for Police Accountability, said that "many of the officers who have engaged in misconduct are still on the force. I don't see them changing their spots just because of" the agreements.
"It's not a cure-all," Barnes said. "Maybe it's a step in the right direction. The burden is now on the chief to hold officers accountable."
The agreement concerning the canine unit, signed by county and Justice officials, is a consent decree that has been filed in U.S. District Court. The county can be sanctioned by a judge if it fails to fulfill the terms of the decree. The other agreement, dealing with excessive force by the department as a whole, is in the form of memorandum, similar to a contract, and also has been signed by federal and Prince George's officials.
"These agreements lay the groundwork for serious reform," said Assistant Attorney General R. Alexander Acosta, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division. Addressing the crowded news conference at Prince George's police headquarters, he said the consent decree and memorandum "will go a long way toward developing transparency in the county's police practices."
The two investigations, which spanned two county administrations and three police chiefs, will "help lift a cloud that has hung over this department for years," Acosta said.
The consent decree, stemming from a Justice probe of the canine unit that began in July 1999, states that federal investigators found "a pattern and practice" of misconduct by officers in the unit. Although county officials "deny the allegations," they agreed to adopt reforms to promote "constitutional law enforcement" and "for the purpose of avoiding the burdens" of a Justice Department lawsuit, according to the agreement.
Among other improvements promised in the decree, dogs will be trained to hold suspects at bay but not bite unless a suspect tries to flee or officers or bystanders are at risk. Dogs are to be deployed only with the permission of a canine unit supervisor and only when the people being pursued are suspected of serious felonies or are believed to be armed. Investigations and records of dog-bite incidents are to be greatly improved, according to the decree.
The probe of the canine unit led to the 2001 conviction of a former canine officer who was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for loosing a police dog on an unarmed homeless man. The Justice investigation found a pattern of police dogs being unnecessarily deployed in Prince George's.
Police Chief Melvin C. High, who joined the department in May, said some of the canine unit reforms in the decree have been adopted.
The changes have dramatically reduced the number of dog bites, officials said. They said there were 19 bites by police dogs in 2000, 9 in 2001 and 11 each in 2002 and last year. More than 800 bites were recorded from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s.
As for incidents of excessive force unrelated to the canine unit, the memorandum lists training, management, investigative and record-keeping measures meant to ensure that officers use force only when necessary and are held accountable for their actions. The Justice probe that led to the memorandum began in October 2000.
The two inquiries were conducted under a 1994 federal law that allows the Justice Department to investigate any local police force suspected of a "pattern or practice" of excessive force or other misconduct.
Percy Alston, president of the county police union, said union members are satisfied with the agreements and are confident that the department will adhere to them. But he said it will take time for officers to become completely comfortable with the changes.
"I'm not sure it's something I like, but it's something we have to work with," Alston said. "And we will work with it in a positive manner."
Some changes set forth in the memorandum have been made, officials said, including the creation of an early-warning computer system to identify problem officers, the installation of video cameras in patrol cars and interrogation rooms, more rigorous training of officers and supervisors and improvements in the civilian complaint system.
The early-warning system will be enhanced as part of the agreement, High said. Similar computer programs have been installed by police in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and other cities that have reached agreements with the Justice Department after civil rights probes.
"Make no mistake," High said. "There will still be times when we find it necessary to use force or our canine units will be deployed in doing our job. The new systems we have, and continue to implement, will ensure our actions are legal, moral and proper."
He added, "The well-being of the community is dependent on our success."
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