New York’s suburban police department routinely violates civil rights by making illegal arrests and illegal strip searches, the Justice Department said in a new report.
The report, released Thursday, revealed that the Mount Vernon Police Department used excessive force in a number of ways, including unnecessarily escalating small-scale fights and overusing strikes and strikes, especially on people who were already on the ground, under police control or simply blocked.
It also identified complaints about the way the police department handles traffic stops and gathering evidence, and also noted concerns about the operation of racist police officers. The police department was also cited for arresting people without reason.
No single incident has prompted an investigation into Mount Vernon police, although the illegal search of two elderly women in 2020 — ages 65 and 75, respectively — was a sign of the department’s civil rights violations, the report said.
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Mount Vernon police in New York routinely violated the rights of its residents, including illegal arrests and illegal strip searches and strip searches, the DOJ said. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The two women were arrested for allegedly buying drugs, the report said. The police found no evidence of a crime when they searched their car, but they took them to the police station in handcuffs.
Station managers authorized strip searches by detectives who “bent over and coughed,” according to the report.
An internal investigation found that the officers had lied about the women buying drugs, and as a disciplinary measure, the officers involved were suspended for several days of vacation.
“Our investigation found reasonable cause to believe that the MVPD is engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the constitutional rights of the citizens it is sworn to protect,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York said, in part. in the statement.
Mount Vernon police have maintained a practice until at least the fall of 2022 of stripping everyone in custody, according to the report.
The investigation into the Mount Vernon Police Department’s pattern of police misconduct is one of 12 inquiries the Justice Department has opened into local police agencies over the past three years. (Mount Vernon Police Department / Facebook)
The police also stripped people they did not arrest, and detained people for questioning without formally arresting them.
People were also arrested for verbally criticizing the police, which is protected under the right to speech and expression.
The Department of Justice said illegal strip searches and pit searches continued until at least 2023. Although the practice was “reduced” during the investigation, investigators said “we are not sure that the practice has ended.”
“These illegal searches were very specific to MVPD’s practices, took place over many years, and were very intrusive,” the report said.
The report identified incidents of unconstitutional arrests, including an incident where the police took the mother of the deceased to the police station for questioning while her daughter was taken to the hospital after being shot. The daughter died while her mother was in prison. The police failed to reveal any reason for the mother’s arrest.
The Mount Vernon police chief authorized strip searches after the illegal arrest of two women, who were told to “bend over and cough,” the DOJ said. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The police force has also suffered from poor financial management, fueling human rights abuses caused by illegal policies and a lack of training, the DOJ said, adding that low salaries make it difficult to attract and retain high-quality officers, train staff and pay bills, reducing their effectiveness. supply budget.
The Department of Justice said the city is already taking steps to improve its police procedures. The report offered a series of recommendations, such as ways to “ensure that strip searches and body searches do not occur.”
Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, a Democrat, said in a statement that the city will work with the Department of Justice to address its consequences for human rights violations.
“We wholeheartedly support our good officers and at the same time we will not tolerate and will punish unconstitutional police officers,” Patterson-Howard said.
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Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard said three officers and two illegal workers were fired following the 2021 investigation. (AP)
The mayor said three police officers and two civilian employees were fired following the 2021 investigation without giving details of when and why those people were fired.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division said the investigation into the MVPD “reveals a pattern and pattern of illegal behavior that can and should be corrected,” adding that the department must take steps to “end these unconstitutional practices.”
“Police reform will not happen overnight,” Clarke added. “Across the country, the department’s investigations, findings and resulting reform efforts are helping law enforcement agencies become the departments citizens need and deserve.”
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The investigation into the Mount Vernon Police Department’s pattern of police misconduct is one of 12 investigations the DOJ has opened into local police agencies over the past three years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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