Reprinted by special permission of Northwestern University School of Law, Northwestern University Law Review Vol. 102, No.3

In this 2008 law review article, Rachel A. Harmon meticulously demonstrates the inadequacy of current law regarding police use of force, which she characterizes as indeterminate and incomplete. She argues that the Garner, Graham, and Scott Supreme Court cases provide unprincipled and sometimes misleading guidance to the lower courts, as well as to police officers, juries and the public at large.  Harmon argues that we should adopt the criminal law's "justification defense" framework, which requires imminence, necessity, and proportionality for an act of violence to be considered lawful.  Adapting these elements to the context of police use of force would provide a clearer and more theoretically complete method of analysis for cases involving police violence.

 

This report was prepared in 2005 by Northeastern University’s Institute on Race and Justice in partnership with the Boston Police Department (BPD) to enhance integrity within the BPD. The researchers conducted a historical analysis of civilian review and identified best practices in civilian review across the country. In addition to reviewing best practices nationally, the researchers analyzed the complaint and use of force investigation and review processes that were in place at the time in Boston and made recommendations to improve these processes and introduce external civilian oversight. Unfortunately, the Community Ombudsman Oversight Panel (COOP) that was established in 2007 by executive order of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino falls short of the recommendations made by the report. A coalition of civil rights and community organizations, among them the NPAP, is currently working on improving civilian oversight in Boston. Community Ombudsman Oversight Panel (COOP) http://www.cityofboston.gov/police/co-op/

This April 2007 report, supported by over 200 individuals and organizations, exposes the countless shortcomings of a biased inquiry into the Chicago torture cases by special prosecutors Edward J. Egan and Robert D. Boyle.

This December 2007 report was prepared for the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the occasion of its review of the United States of America’s Second and Third Periodic Report to the Committee. The report, endorsed by many organizations and individuals including the NPAP, addresses the U.S. government’s failure to comply with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to prevent and punish acts of excessive force, rape sexual abuse, and racial profiling committed by law enforcement officers against people of color. The report examines why existing police training programs are ineffective and current legislative and judicial remedies are failing to afford victims of racially discriminatory law enforcement practices vindication of their human rights, financial compensation, or systemic change. It concludes by offering concrete recommendations to bring the U.S. into compliance with the Convention.

This June 2009 paper by the Center for American Progress is directed at advocates, policymakers and legislators and argues that the international human rights framework provides a powerful instrument in advancing domestic social justice. Center for American Progress http://www.americanprogress.org/

This July 2009 report by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP)and the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) includes information about 273 cities nationwide that target the homeless with laws making it illegal to sleep, eat or sit in public spaces. It also ranks the top 10 U.S. cities with the worst practices. National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) http://www.nlchp.org/ National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) http://www.nationalhomeless.org/

With its long history of systematic egregious violations of civil rights, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has the reputation of being among the most troubled police departments in the country. This March 2011 investigative report by the US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division describes the profound systemic deficiencies within the NOPD and offers recommendations to achieve comprehensive and sustainable reform. US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division http://www.justice.gov/crt/