Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said Sunday night that if elected president, he would require every officer-involved shooting of a civilian to be investigated by the Department of Justice.
Sanders shared his plan at the fourth Democratic debate, aired on NBC, after being asked how his administration would ensure just investigation into police shootings by local prosecutors. The questioner cited investigations into prominent killings by police of unarmed black men where local prosecutors did not win indictments by grand juries of officers.
“Whenever anybody in this country is killed while in police custody, it should automatically trigger a U.S. attorney general investigation,” Sanders said.
The Socialist-leaning Democrat outlined three other steps he would take to improve trust between law enforcement and African-American communities. He called for any officer who breaks a law, even those unrelated to shootings, to be held accountable for his or her actions.
Sanders also said police departments need to move toward community policing methods and away from the “occupying armies” they currently resemble.
He also called for more diversity in police departments and, specifically, for every community’s force to equally represent the ethnicities there.
