A Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation reveals that police departments majority black The city of Lexington, Michigan, has committed numerous violations related to free speech, excessive use of force, funding, and more, in addition to discriminating against African-Americans and sexually harassing women. According to the report It was released on Thursday.
“Today's findings demonstrate that the Lexington Police Department has abdicated its sacred position of trust in the community by routinely violating the constitutional rights of the people it is sworn to protect,” Merrick said. Attorney General Garland said in a statement. press release.
“The Department of Justice investigation found that Lexington police officers engaged in a pattern and practice of discriminating against the city's Black residents, using excessive force, and retaliating against those who criticized them.” added Garland.
Ministry of Justice started an investigation In November 2023.
The Department of Justice report said the city and the Lexington Police Department (LPD) “fully cooperated with the investigation.”
“The city and LPD have committed to working collaboratively with the department to address the violations identified in the department's findings,” the report states.
The Justice Department said in a report that LPD officers sexually harassed the woman. The report said these reports came from people, including four current and former LPD officers who say they witnessed it, as well as women who say they experienced it. The Justice Department said the account of the assault was “credible and consistent.”
All of the women interviewed were black, according to the Justice Department report.
“Just as LPD officers act in disregard of constitutional limits, they also cross professional boundaries in other ways, particularly when interacting with women,” the full report says. says.
“Four current and former LPD officers also reported directly witnessing officers sexually harassing women while in uniform. Testimonies of sexual harassment were reliable; It was consistent.”
In a press release, the Department of Justice announced that LPD and the City of Lexington “engage in a pattern of conduct or practices that deprive people of their rights under the United States Constitution and federal law.”
The Justice Department said it found that police departments were “conducting stops, searches, and arrests without justifiable reason,” among the types of conduct listed. The release also found that LPD retaliates against people who criticize police, violating individuals' freedom of speech and expression.
The Justice Department also found that police funding “operates under an unconstitutional conflict of interest,” noting that its funding relies on funds raised through enforcement.
LPD arrests nearly one in every four people in Lexington, more than 10 times the state's per capita arrest rate, according to a Department of Justice report. These arrests were primarily for “minor criminal or traffic violations,” the release states.
Additionally, the report noted that in making these low-level arrests, police used tactics “usually reserved for serious crimes.”
“For example, LPD officers broke down a door to arrest a black man for abusing a public official,” the report states. “In another case, when attempting to arrest a man with tinted windshield, officers followed the man's car to his home, entered the home and taped him up for 15 seconds.”
The report also said LPD's actions were allowed to go unchecked because “LPD lacks meaningful accountability structures.”
The Justice Department found that LPD's strategy left the town of about 1,200 people $1.7 million in debt with the police department.
An official who answered the phone at the Lexington Police Department in Holmes County told The Associated Press that Chief Charles Henderson could not immediately comment on the report.
