The Metropolitan Police Department has enacted enough reforms to do away with an independent monitor that keeps close tabs on police shootings and use of force, the District announced Friday.
In 2001, the city entered into a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Justice after the federal agency investigated allegations of excessive use of force by D.C. officers, including 85 fatal police shootings in eight years. The volunteer agreement is on track to be terminated by June next year.
The agencies selected an independent monitor to oversee a host of police reforms, including the way the department trained its officers and investigated incidents in which they used force. The department created a use-of-force investigation team and a police complaints board, and required all 3,600 police officers to go through firearms training.
“The MPD has come a long way,” said D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, noting that when she joined the force in 1990, officers were simply handed a gun and a nightstick with little training on how and when to use them. Lanier was part of a mass hiring mandated in 1989 by Congress in which 1,500 new officers were rushed into service.
Fatal police shootings fell from a high of 16 in 1995 to two in 2006. This year, the city has had five deadly police shootings, including the high-profile shooting of 14-year-old DeOnte Rawlings by an off-duty officer.
If the department shows enough progress, it could be released from the agreement as early as March.
One of the changes the District is still working on is implementation of a computer system that tracks an officer’s history of using force and citizen complaints.
